


Trails Dead Men Leave

by NihilismPastry



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Gaster Blaster AU, General Dark Themes, Multi, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-07-27
Packaged: 2018-09-14 03:08:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 33,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9157543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NihilismPastry/pseuds/NihilismPastry
Summary: Corpses, Beasts formed from ambition and pride, and a human were probably some of the smaller things Gaster left along his dust ridden trail. And while Sans watched it burn all around him, his grip on his brother and the human slipping, he knew it was actually all his fault.





	1. Trails Usually Left

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The typical work day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My new project! This one is incredibly dark, and is basically my writing without a self made censor.

Humanity was incredibly fragile. Yes, their souls and physical matter were strong, but not their minds. They were flimsy at best, less than capable at worst. However, that sat well enough for the Royal Scientist. As he walked down the steps of his lab, and into a small hallway lit by bioluminescent fungi, he paused by a door. Like all the others it was painted a clinical white, but when he unlocked the door and opened it, the scenery changed. Gone were the white tiled floors, fungi trapped in suspended globes, and the chalk boards every few feet for his own musings. Instead the floor had a comfortable green rug, there were paintings on the wall, and a canopy bed. Sitting on it was a human, her body cloaked in a thick robe, and her hands holding a book. 

Sitting next to her was one of his experiments. A round skeletal face, with small eye lights produced more for the human's benefit than actual usability. A waste of magic, but the boy never listened. His hand was trailing along the human's exposed thigh, halting where the robe began, then trailed back down again. The human didn't seem to mind his touch, a problem that needed to be broken. 

"I see you're neglecting your duties again, S-15." 

The human jumped, dropping her book in the process, while the skeleton just gave him a lazy grin. In truth, it was the only look ever present on his face. "Just checking up on the human."

"Of course you are." Gaster gestured to the door. "Go 'check up' on the determination files. I believe Serpan has finally completed the initial repairs."

The human pressed her lips to the crown of his skull, before letting him go. The skeleton slid off the bed, and waltzed to the door, not sparing Gaster a second glance. Once the door was shut behind him, Gaster glanced back to the human. She hadn't bothered to pick up the book, and was merely staring. He made his way to the bed, and sat down next to her. The bed was still warm from where S-15 sat. Once again wasting his magic, clearly he had produced a false form of body heat for the human to indulge in.

Just to prove a point, he should run some magic drills later on. 

"I see that they keep finding ways into your room." The human shrugged. "I locked my door."

"I will repeat my warning then: Do not get attached." He pressed a hand against her thigh. He could still see her skin through the hole in his palms, but otherwise covered most of the flesh and muscle. She shuddered, but didn't pull away as he enjoyed her natural warmth. "They have a purpose, and they will fulfill it before your next steeping cycle. Whether it is a success or failure is entirely up to debate, however," He curled his fingers, his claws digging into her skin, eliciting a gasp from the human. "you are not so easily replaced. I will not have you shattered from an attachment to those abominations." 

His other hand trailed up to her chest, and parted the robe, revealing bare skin. He pressed his hand against the skin, and it began to bleed a reddish blue as he called his magic. It twisted and burrowed, before her back arched and a whine escaped her lips. He ignored the reaction as her soul floated up to him, coated in his magic. It was a royal purple that threatened to black depending on the light. There was stitches here and there that were a deep red. Outside of those, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Nothing that S-15 could accomplish without equipment and complex rituals, anyway. 

He pressed the soul back into her chest, and stood up. "I want you bathed, dressed, and in my room tonight."

"Yes, Sir."

He cupped her cheek, and leaned down, pressing his forehead to hers. Her eyelids fluttered shut from the gesture, and he felt her body temperature increase. Happy with her acceptance, he straightened up and left the room, locking it once again. When he turned back around, he found himself staring at a small child. This one was also skeletal in appearance, though the features were sharper. In that, it was easier to spot his parentage, even more so when he used his magic. 

He wrung his hands together, a pale, orange blush covering his cheek bones. "Is Mama not feeling good?"

"That is not how we speak, P-1."

The blush became darker, bordering on red. "I-is Mama not feeling well?"

"..."

"I-is the human-"

"She is doing perfectly well," He said. "however I have asked you and your fellow experiments to stay away from her outside of the projects."

The boy bowed his head, having the decency to look ashamed. In that regard, P-1 was superior to S-15. "Sorry."

He put a hand on the boy's shoulder and steered him around. "Now go back to your room. S-15 will retrieve you for a magic drill momentarily."

The boy did as he was told, his feet plodding hard against the tile. Seeing as that was out of the way, Gaster returned to the stairs and began making his way up to the lab. The mushrooms slowly became light bulbs, the silence, chatter, and the cold became warm. He opened the door, and it swung open to reveal a bookshelf. He carefully shut it back, and went to the large chair situated in front of a wooden desk. It creaked under his weight, and the leather molded to his body. He leaned back and put a hand in his pocket, extracting a box of cheap cigarettes and a lighter. He put the fag between his fangs, and flicked the lighter on. Smoke filled the room, and sparked against the magic that made up his being. His shoulders relaxed, and he felt himself lulling asleep. It had been awhile since he had a chance to rest, not with all the preparations for the Core going on. 

As if someone heard his thoughts, a heavy knock sounded at the door. Gaster let a billow of smoke escape his mouth. "Come in."

The door opened, a large worm monster slithered into the room. It stopped in front of him , and dropped a thick file from its maw, and onto the already cluttered desk. "These are the current levels of power the magic converter has created."

Gaster plucked up the file, keeping the cig between his teeth. It was going to be a long day. 

* * *

You fiddled with the night dress, your hand looping and unlooping the lacey hem between your fingers. You could no longer hear the chatter and banging of the scientists, the work day had long since ended. Gaster was prone to working long hours, but when he asked for you to come to his room, that usually meant he had a time he intended to stop. It had been awhile since either of you spent a night like this. Usually it was sitting up and playing chess, putting together a puzzle, or reading a book. 

Your thoughts ground to a halt as the door opened, and Gaster entered the room. He stared down at you, the empty sockets silently checking to see if you did as he asked. When he found nothing amiss, he took of his tab coat and hung it on a hook next to his door, before unbuttoning his white shirt. Once it was removed, you caught sight of the cracked and hardened husk of his exoskeleton.

He sat on the bed, and pat his lap. You crawled over to him, and did as he asked. Without missing a beat he kissed you, it was hard and his fingers dug into your hips, ripping through the night dress. When you felt the need for air, you pulled back, lips swollen and a metallic taste in your mouth. He had never been one for foreplay,at least with you, so it was no surprise when he began buckling his belt and a black and red dick made its way out of a small slit in his pelvis. It was slick with fluids, and already throbbing with need. 

"On your knees."

"Yes, Sir."

You scrambled off his lap and onto the tiled floor. The cold sent a shiver down your spine but it didn't stop you from getting between his legs, and slipping your mouth over his girthy cock. He always tasted vaguely of chemicals and lemons, almost like a liquid cleaner. When this all started two years ago, to you anyway, you had quickly learned not to complain about the taste. You gave a hard suck to his tip, before pushing your head forward. You couldn't take all of him in your mouth,he was far too long,but you did the best you could. What you couldn't fit in your mouth, you curled your hands over the sensitive flesh. 

At first he seemed unaffected. His gaze set in his neutral stare as you worked him, but slowly his mouth parted, and a hand fisted in your hair. When he became close, he bucked his hips and dragged your head up and down his shaft, taking over the roll completely. Spit escaped the sides of your mouth, and moans bubbled to your tongue. You could feel a slickness between your thighs, and it took everything you had not to dip a finger between your legs while he was using you. 

A hushed growl of your name, and your mouth becoming free, were the only warnings you got before something hot splat against your face. Two more got your chest, while another hit your collar bone. You had no time to lick off the offending mess, as he dragged you up by the hair and back into his lap. Two fingers pushed themselves into you. 

"So wet," His voice was deeper due to lust, and only served to make you that much more aroused. "and from sucking me off alone. Such a dirty slut."

He slipped his fingers out of your pussy, and a long tongue with a hole in the middle unfurled from his mouth. It was thicker than a human tongue, and was a similar black and red as his dick. His tongue curled around his fingers, prompting a low moan from you. He gave a low laugh and let his fingers go, before grabbing you and stabbing you on his cock. your walls stretched and burned, fighting to adjust to his size. Your hands flew up to his shoulders, and your fingers curled into the hardened 'skin' as he bucked his hips into yours. 

He leaned down and put a bruising kiss to your lips for just a moment, before making his way down your throat. He left harsh bites, marks, and all manner of magic that you would never be able to pick up. You were being thoroughly used, marked, and owned. Your only purpose in the Underground, as decreed by their king, and reinforced by their genius. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, this is the beginning. Gaster has a human, the bros are experiments, and the Core is under construction. This is gonna be a wild ride.
> 
> Know what isn't wild? My tumblr! http://nihilismpastry.tumblr.com


	2. The Trails of Routine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your daily routine has a disturbance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gore Level: None
> 
> I'm surprised how many people decided they liked this hell ride. I'm both excited and somewhat concerned. XD

You woke up feeling sore, sticky, and in your own bed. You sat up slowly, your back popping and getting back into proper alignment. A glance at the clock on the bedside table read it was a quarter until six. You pushed aside the blankets, and swung your feet over the side of the bed. Gaster would be coming down soon, you wanted to feed the boys before he snatched them away. You padded to your bathroom and turned on the shower, and made quick work of your daily routine. Once that was done you slipped on a dress, Gaster insisted you wear things that were easy to pull on and off, you hurried out your door and down the hall.At the very back of it was another door, that opened up to a kitchen.  

It was spacious and had a large enough stove and oven for you to cook a feast if you wanted. There was also a small fridge, and a table with three chairs around it. You opened up a cabinet and took down a pot, and brought it to the sink. After a moment of gurgling, water finally came out of the faucet. Once the pot was full enough, you set it on the stove, and turned around, just to feel something hard and mildly sharp collide into you. "Morning, Papyrus." 

He nuzzled his skull into your ribs. "Morning momma! I-I mean human." 

You brushed your hand against his skull. "Gaster isn't here, baby. You can call me momma." 

He peeked up at you, a light orange caressing his cheekbones. You snorted and carefully pushed him away, dragging a glass container full of magic infused oatmeal off the counter. You popped it open, and began measuring out enough for the three of you. "Is your brother awake?" 

"yeah." 

You glanced back, just to find the older skeleton lounging at the table. He was actually dressed, though there were dark circles under his sockets. You had stopped questioning how he managed to do things like that awhile ago. "You sleep well, Sans?" 

"yeah." 

"No he didn't!" Papyrus piped up. "He kept tossing and turning. He almost pushed me out of the bed!" 

"don't gotta tell her all that." 

"But you lied." Papyrus said. "You're not supposed to lie." 

You snorted and began stirring the food to keep it from sticking to the bottom. "Go wash your hands Papyrus and face, Papyrus, this isn't going to take long to finish." 

You heard groaning behind you, and bone collide against wood. "Do I have to?" 

"you want me to eat it?" A loud scraping sound filled the room, followed by the sound of small feet running. You turned back to Sans, about to scold him, but the words died on your tongue. The easy smile was gone, and he was staring at your exposed collar bone. "you let him touch you." 

The words were bland, a statement more than a question. You turned back to the stove, and continued stirring. The oatmeal was getting fluffy now, just a few more minutes- 

"blow it off as always." 

"It's not that easy, Sans." 

"you're human." You heard him clamber to his feet, his shoes shuffling g against the tiled floor. "could kill him easy. run away. but you don't." 

"..." 

You felt warm, thin fingers trace the bite marks along your neck. It paused along a deeper one, and you felt the hum of his magic against your skin. Was he trying to...? 

You twisted around and pushed him away, one of your hands flying up to the mark. His eye lights faded out of his skull, but you could practically feel all his attention on you. "Don't." 

"..." 

The pounding of small feet against the floor, pulled the facade back into place. Sans grinned, while you knelt down and inspected Papyrus' face. "Hmmm...Looks clean to me. Let's eat." 

* * *

After breakfast,Papyrus was sent back to his room, while you and Sans followed Gaster to an experiment chamber. It was pretty large, with two tables set up, one filled with different lab instruments, the other empty. There were lights strung up from the ceilings, though these weren't mushrooms, and a few charts pinned to the walls. Gaster gestured to the table, and you sat down on it. Sans pushed down your dress, and reached behind you to undue your bra, exposing your skin. There were a series of scars on your chest, some long and thick, others as small as a needle pin prick. Sans glanced up at you, but you didn't say anything. Taking that as an okay, he pressed a hand to your chest. Color drained from the world, and your back arched as your soul was released from your chest. The o lying bit of color you could see was the purple and red soul bobbing in front of you.  

Sans cupped his hands around it, but didn't dare touch it as he brought it to a large cube. He opened it with one hand, and put your soul inside. Gaster leaned over his shoulder, looking at whatever may have appeared significant. You couldn't feel anything they were doing to it, just a hollow feeling I. Your chest that desperately wanted to be filled. You let out a low whine, andhands missing their palms materialized in front of you. Fingers hooked under your chin, while a thumb brushed against your cheek.  

You leaned into it, feeling yourself calm. Gaster had your soul and would keep it safe. You repeated the mantra as the two men jotted things down on their clipboards, and made notes on some of the charts. A loud beep filled the room, and the lid to the device popped open. Gaster cupped your soul with both his true hands, also careful not to touch it, and came back to you. "S-15, get the perseverance extract." 

Sans glanced between the two of you for a moment, before leaving the room. Gaster gestured to a stool in the corner, and it became engulfed in his reddish-blue magic. With a pulling motion, it floated to him, and he sat down. "Do you feel any major differences since we began this new treatment?" 

"No." You shook your head. "Everything feels the same." 

"No pain, changes in mind set, overall..." Sans came back I to the room with a large jar that held a dark purple liquid. It oozed and bubbled, threatening to escape out the top. "complications?" 

"No." 

Gaster's hand left your cheek and opened the bottle, while another hand grabbed a needle and scissors. "S-15, I need you to hold the soul while I apply another layer." 

Sans took hold of the soul, and you felt an onslaught of emotions.  

**Hate**

**Anger**

**Jealousy**

**Desire**

You shuddered and brought your hands around your torso. This caught Gaster's attention,he paused, the needle inches from your soul. "Restrain your emotions. I will not have you corrupt another human due to your lack of restraint and professionalism." 

 "heh, sorry boss." 

The emotions became muted, almost non-existent against your soul. However you kept the position, eyes stuck to the needle as it began covering your soul in a layer of 'perseverance'. It covered your small soul like a blanket, though the red stitches always burned through it all. It didn't hurt while he did the time consuming process. The needle never went too deep, and his fingers never brushed against your soul. After two years of this, he had become a pro. You felt a sense of pride in that, which carryout stomach gurgle in disgust. The low shuffling Sans was doing was a sign he also must have felt your pride.  

You blinked as a warmth spread through your chest, and colors began to bleed back into your vision. Gaster stood up, his extra hands disappearing, and held out his hand for you to take. You grasped it, and hopped down from the table. "You are done for today. I need you to return to P-1 and explain his lessons to him." 

You adjusted your dress back into place, mild happiness filling you up. You liked going over Papyrus' lessons with him, even if they were much too difficult for a child his age. However, he usually managed to get them right, even if it wasn't at the speed Gaster wanted. Sans had a hard time learning as a child as well, and now he could easily do the math for just about anything without a calculator. You were sure Papyrus would be just fine, you knew it.  

* * *

 

You shifted Papyrus' paper, turning it right side up so you could read it. There was a bunch of math equations on the paper, most of them no more complex than basic algebra. Your eyes narrowed as you looked over his solution sheet, then back to his actual paper. "I have no idea,Papyrus. I mean, it looks right." 

"Let's ask, big brother!" 

You glanced up from the paper. "Isn't he still with Gaster?" 

"Yeah, but he'll come back." He said. "He always comes back." 

You circled the paper, and marked Sans' actual 'name' next to the equation. Gaster rarely checked the individual worksheets, only caring about the tests, but you didn't want to get the boys in trouble on the off chance he did look at this paper. The boys weren't named when they were born, and Sans was called as such by one of Gaster's assistants on this floor. Papyrus had been introduced to you with the name, so you assumed Sans gave it to him at some point.  

You sighed and put the paper down. "Alright, we finished math, science, literature..." 

"History!" He slammed down a thick tome that was yellowed from age, and the title was no longer legible. He flipped it open, showing off quickly colorful book mark he had made so time ago. "We're on the chapter about The Great Census."

"King Asgore really does suck at naming things."

"Yeah."

As Papyrus put on his glasses, asking help with the tape, a loud bang and snap sounded in the air. You paused, your eyes gazing towards the ceiling. There was another explosion, this one louder than the last. Without a second thought, you scooped up Papyrus and went to your room. You slammed the door shut, and pressed a button next to it. A click sounded and a metal bar slid in place. 

"Momma-"

"It's alright, I'm sure he is."

"But-"

"Gaster has him. He'll make sure everything is okay." You looked down at him, and cupped his face. "You said it yourself, right? Sans always comes back."

Another bang sounded, followed by a roar. A shrill ring pierced the air, and you leaned over to your table, plucking up the phone. "Gaster, what's going on?"

"Are you locked in your room with P-1?"

"Yes, but-"

"That was all I needed to know." The roar sounded again from his end of the phone, it was louder and deeper, making your hair stand on end. "I will try to calm him down. Stay inside until I retrieve you, do not answer for anyone else."

The call ended with a click. You sighed and tossed the phone onto the other side of the bed. Of course he told you nothing, even if your lives were in danger. 

Momma?" You glanced down at Papyrus. "Is he okay?"

You wrapped him up in a hug, and pressed your lips to the top of his skull. "Sans is just fine, baby. Just fine."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So now our story will really kick off. Gaster is performing disturbing experiments, Sans sucks at controlling his emotions, and Papyrus is a cinnamon roll. 
> 
> Know what isn't a cinnamon roll? My tumblr! http://nihilismpastry.tumblr.com


	3. The Trails of a New Development

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster is successful in something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gore Level: None
> 
> Oh boy, this chapter was a pain to write...

The first day of isolation, you and Papyrus spent most of the time napping. He would snuggle into your chest, his fingers clutched into your clothes, and your arms were curled around his waist. You both woke up at odd times every few hours, and would spend the time playing eye spy, or you would teach him a clapping game. The second day was less quiet, with Papyrus growing bored and trying to find something to do. He would try to do tumbles on the floor, or handstands against the wall. Most of the time he simply slumped to the side, or almost split his skull open against the tile, but you allowed it. You'd rather he be entertained than trying to leave the room and getting into potential trouble. The third day quieted a bit, especially when you found a stack of paper and an old, red pen in the drawer by your bed. Papyrus had squealed when you found it, and got to work drawing. He was rather good at it, able to make simple things like apples and flowers. He had recently taken to making drawings of the people he knew, and was getting very good at human anatomy. 

While Papyrus seemed to be enjoying this time with you, the same could not be said for you. Every time you caught sight of the old brick they called a phone, you picked it up to see if you had missed a call from Gaster. However, the screen always told you no, and you went back to trying to keep your mind occupied. This scenario had happened so many times before. Perhaps before Papyrus was born, but all the same anyway. Gaster would experiment on one of his S-classes, and you would have to be locked away for hours and hours. One time, you were locked away for a whole week. Your emergency food had ran out, and you were starving before Gaster finally let you out again. He had supplied you with a month's worth of rations after that. You scratched on of your arms, your eyes darting to the phone sitting innocently by Papyrus' latest drawing. It wouldn't surprise you if Gaster forgot about the two of you altogether. Maybe you should give him a call-

The door swung open, and the ghoulish creature stood in the doorway. His sockets took in the room, and his fangs was set into that perpetual frown. Papyrus had dropped his pen, and sat up, his smile fading, while you just stood there. "Papyrus, go back to your room."

"Yes, sir."

The boy scrambled up, not even touching his many pictures in his hurry to leave. Gaster made a beckoning motion with his hand, before turning on his heel. You quietly followed behind him, fingers digging into your arm. The silence between the two of you buzzed, and you almost wanted to cough, just to break it. Gaster was not the type to go on an on, but he wasn't the type who left you completely in the dark either. But you knew that asking him a question was pointless, he would just dance around the issue, or ignore you entirely. Gaster stopped outside a metal door and opened it, walking into a small room that was made entirely of concrete. There was a glass window set in front of you, and a metal door with a number pad next to that. You peered out of the window, and saw a spacious room that had several electric lights strung from bare bulbs hanging from the ceiling. The floors in this room were also concrete, though there was some places were it seemed scorched from something, likely some kind of chemical blast if the smell wafting through the room was anything to go by. 

"I know it has been quite some time since you've seen this place." Gaster said, typing a code into the number pad, the buttons beeping under his fingers. "I had to remodel it after the last incident. Interestingly enough, S-15 helped me with all of the repairs. His sense of humor goes beyond puns and sad attempts at sarcasm." The door opened with a groan, and the chemical smell became heavier. "Come now, I don't have all day."

You followed behind the scientist, your gaze taking in the room. It was surprisingly warm, and it even felt like there was a draft of some sort coming through. Perhaps he had a window set up that let you see Hotland. Gaster paused in the middle of the room, his head tilted up, searching the rafters. You followed his example, and let out a strangled gasp. Sitting on the rafters was a giant draconian creature. It was made entirely of chalky, white bone and yet it still had the ability to narrow its sockets, its long tail waving back and forth behind the hunched body. Glistening, pale blue smoke curled out of the nose sockets, and it took you a moment to realize that was where the chemical smell had been coming from. 

"You did it." The words were quiet, almost a whisper. "I can't..."

"Did you honestly think I would not accomplish even this much?" You ripped your gaze from the creature, and back to Gaster. He had a clipboard in one hand now, and a pen the other. "He is stable and has not breached to the inferior form in forty eight hours. At the rate he is gathering energy, I suspect he will be able to release it within the next seventy-two hours. However," He looked up from his calculations. "the energy will need to be tainted with living determination."

"..."

"It is alright to be nervous, but I would never harm you." A hand was summoned, and gently caressed your cheek. On instinct you leaned into it, craving some sense of comfort. "Live determination is just far more powerful than neutral determination. If I had any other way to do this without implementing you with a machine, I swear I would, but that is just not the case." He swept a thumb under your eye, brushing away a loose eyelash. "This is why I told you not to become attached. You knew this day was coming."

"..."

The silence was shattered as the creature jumped from the rafters to the floor. Aside from the bones clacking against the concrete, it didn't make any obvious noises from movement. Now that it was closer, you could see that it was large, almost as big as a car. There were spines growing out of the spine, and they all had pale blue tips that seemed to pulse with light and energy. The teeth were huge in the mouth, and they were bared as it hissed at Gaster, but otherwise stayed far enough away so it wouldn't be a real threat, going to a corner and curling in on itself like a large cat. 

Another new development. 

You wondered what Gaster did to keep it from being hostile, surely the process to make it would have caused it to become feral... You felt the hand on your cheek disappear as he walked over to you, and placed a hand on the small of your back. He began to guide you over to the creature, and your heart beat began to accelerate, and your heels to dig into the concrete to no avail. "I want him to be used to you in this form, also. It is imperative that he does not try to harm you out of some ill conceived threat response. You will stay with him tonight, and I will watch the footage. If anything happens, I will be by your side in but a moment."

"But-" He pushed you forward, making you stumble over your own two feet, and fall to the floor in front of the creature, scarping your knees against the concrete. You scrambled to back to your feet and turned around, but Gaster was already gone. You fingers went up to your arms, scratching at the irritated skin there as you turned back to the skeletal creature. Its sockets were open again and staring, the white pupils burning with a soft light. You took a nervous step forward, and when it did nothing to move, you released your hand from your arm, and reached forward. You remembered your family used to train dogs, and the first time you met with a new dog, they always needed to smell you. In this case, you weren't trying to get the creature used to your scent, instead you were trying to show you meant it no harm. Something that you were sure was needed after spending so much time with Gaster. 

When your hand was only inches from the muzzle, it jerked its nose upward, bopping your hand with a cold snout. You retracted your hand immediately, but it didn't respond to the hurried movement, the pupils still trained on you. With a shaky breath, you moved forward again, pressing your hand against the cold bone of the snout. The blue smoke seemed to thin out now that you were closer, though the sound of bone scarping against concrete certainly caught your attention. You froze as the back haunches rose, and it seemed to get up part way, shifting its body around until it was partly stretched out. It lifted its head and opened the massive jaws, a dull snap sounding through the room with the very unnatural movement. A sharp scream filled the room, and the head darted forward, fangs grabbed at your shirt and pulled you forward, slamming you onto the floor. Another scream escaped your lips, but it went ignored as you were dragged forward, the concrete rubbing your skin raw. 

With a jerk your head was hit against something hard, and the light was shadowed as the large head was lowered only inches in front of you. The rest of the body was also surrounding you, almost like a wall. It took a moment to realize that the creature had shoved you next to its body, and made a sort of nest for you. Your eyebrows furrowed, and you cursed yourself in your head. Of course he wouldn't eat you. Regardless of the form, this was still Sans the skeleton, a weirdo with a penchant for telling jokes and a fondness for Papyrus. Sans had never gone out of his way to hurt you, not since he had been 'born'. It would make sense for him to treat you the same in either form, regardless of the changes in physical appearance. 

At least you hoped that was the case. 

You leaned your head against the cold bones, and stared at the metal rafter above your heads. Watching them begin and end in an endless ocean of silver and black. They soon began to bleed together, and before you knew it, your eyes were shutting. You fought sleep as long as you could, singing nursery rhymes and old reggae songs your mother used to sing, but those too began to fade away into sleep. 

* * *

When you woke up again, you were laying flat on your back. You blinked once, then twice, trying to get the sleep out of your eyes. Once that was accomplished, you slowly sat up. Your back popped and snapped into place, the concrete floor only managing to make the process that much harder. Your rubbed at your eyes and took a slow breath, before looking around. Sans was no longer around you, which explained why you were able to sleep flat on your back. A quick look into the rafters proved he hadn't somehow managed to get up there either. You supposed Gaster had taken him away at some point, probably to run checks or something in another part of the lab. It was far too common for you to wake up in a strange place, you wouldn't put it past him to apply the same thing to Sand and Papyrus. Speaking of which, you wondered how the younger skeleton was doing. It wasn't often he was left completely alone like this, you hoped he didn't cry himself to sleep. He was worried enough about Sans, he was probably worried for you now too. 

Your train of thought was cut off as the door opened. You jerked your head, and was surprised to see Gaster come into the room holding Sans by the neck. It wasn't the gigantic creature either, it was just the small skeleton monster. His sockets were half shut, and something blue and slimy escaped from the side of his forever closed mouth. Gaster threw him to the floor, causing you to wince, but you didn't dare help him up.

"He reverts to this inferior form every few hours or so within his cycle." Gatser said. "He'll revert back eventually." He went over to you and knelt down, hooking two fingers under your chin, and forcing you to look him in the eye socket. The cold appendages felt wet, and left a slight burn against your skin. "I saw your interactions with him on the monitor last night. I did not expect such an outcome."

"You thought he'd kill me?"

"Try to." He corrected. "I wouldn't let him kill you, my dear. It would be a waste of both him and you. His conscience would shatter him, knowing he farmed EXP from an innocent, more so from the being he calls 'mother'. However, I did not expect him to accept you so easily, even going so far as to try to make you comfortable and protect you." 

"what can i say." Sans' voice was gruffer than usual, lower too. Almost like he had swallowed sandpaper. "i'm a pretty soft guy."

"Yes, and that will get you killed." Gaster said, before letting your face go, and pressing his teeth to your forehead. You shut your eyes, and when you counted to three the pressure was gone. You opened your eyes again, just to find Gaster standing up. "I will bring some food for you, my dear. Please refrain from feeding the experiment, he is on a set ration."

You heard Sans scoff, but made no reply as Gaster left the room, slamming the door shut behind him. The two of you sat in silence for a few moments, and you dared to glance over to the skeleton. He was sitting up now, his legs crossed, and skull in his hands. He was entirely naked, probably due to his transformations, and you could see the many cracks and scratches in his bones. He wasn't moving, and for a moment you thought he had stopped breathing entirely, before you shook the thought away. Sans likely didn't have to breathe, just like his brother and father, more than likely he did it out of habit or for your benefit. You sighed and inched closer to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. He jerked his skull up, and looked towards you, his pupils igniting in his skull, his permanent smile lifted at the edges. "Are you okay?"

"been through worse." He said. "but i've got thick skin."

"Sans..." You pressed a hand to his cheek bone, something Gaster always did to get you to calm down. You wondered if the gesture was perverted, considering what he had to calm you down from, but pushed the thought away. This was about Sans, not Gaster. "I care, you know? It's kinda my job. It's not exactly traditional, but you're partly my responsibility-"

"don't." Your fingers faltered in their petting movement. "don't talk that way."

"What way?"

"you know what." He slipped his skull from your hand, to your lap, his arms wrapping around your waist. He buried his face into your stomach, his teeth pressing against the exposed skin there. "cause that's not what this is. what we are."

You obediently dropped the topic of conversation. You both sat in silence until Gaster came back with a tray filled with food. The scientist took one look at Sans, and used one of his magic hands to pry him off of you, and flung him to the side. He crashed into the floor, but made no real effort to get up this time, either through laziness or a display of obedience you weren't sure. Gaster turned back to you, sockets narrowed. "I've told you time and again, not to get attached to him, my dear. I understand that you may feel a kinship with him due to his skeletal nature, or the fact that you birthed him," He sat down, putting the tray in front of him, and directly in front of you, the smell of roasted apples and fried snails didn't ease the tension Gaster had created. "but you will only feel heartache once he fulfills his purpose. And for that reason, I am going to do this. It's because I love you. Everything I do is for your benefit, my dear. You will thank me for this one day."

He stretched out a hand, and magic curled from his fingers and into the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that happened. I Gaster threw Reader to the blaster, and Reader has to get punishment for letting Sans lay all over her. And yes, for any of you wondering, Gaster more or less said what you think he said. This story is not healthy, or for the faint of heart.
> 
> Know what is for the faint of heart? My tumblr! http://nihilismpastry.tumblr.com/


	4. The Trails of Thought

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone and anyone can feel vulnerable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gore Level: High

Gaster left the comatose body on the floor, and cradled the soul in one hand, the other pressing on the skull of his eldest experiment. The moment the human had collapsed, S-15 had pounced on him, trying to get back the small soul. And of course, due to all the magic use in the last few hours and his self inflicted magic blocks, the skeleton had to resort to physical attacks. The onslaught was easy to dodge, and anything that actually did land probably hurt s-15 more than it did him. The boy had ridiculously low **HoPe** , and as a result, brittle bones. Even now he could easily press just a smidgen harder and shatter the skull under his hand. He played with the thought for a moment, causing the small soul to begin pulsing. He pushed the dark thoughts out of his mind, not wanting to damage the soul anymore than he already had. He let the skeleton go, and stood up properly, watching the empty sockets stare at him with a vengeance swirling in the darkness.

"you're a beast." He spat. "all for her benefit. you split the link from her body to her soul. you're gonna kill her!"

"Oh, come off it." Gaster said. "You know that she won't die from this. If she did, I would never perform it." He watched as the skeleton crawled to the human, and propped her head on his lap, dragging his phalanges through her hair, his eye lights returning. As if the small displays would get her to wake up from the death like state she had fallen into. He decided not to scold him for the pointless behavior, and let him indulge himself in the human. There was no point in arguing at this point, perhaps it would even calm him down, keep him from being so terribly murderous once he became a beast again. "Besides, her body is no where near as important as her soul.

S-15 didn't respond, so Gaster left him to his pointless task. He left the room and locked it behind him, before going to another lab room. This one was smaller, with a single table that held a single jar. He popped it open, and carefully set the soul on the bottom, before closing it up again. It wasn't long before the soul was floating again, the light still dim, but not as dim as when he was holding it. They were designed to keep human souls, to allow them to sustain after the death of their hosts, but not become attached to a monster or point blank disappear. They were used on the human souls gathered from the dead children, but this one was specially made for the human in his possession. A human soul had a special link with a body, but if it was severed then the human was effectively dead. His magic was capable of blocking this link, and the jar was constantly secreting enough of this form of magic, though not directly onto the soul itself. 

So far, the human had only shown signs of waking up from nightmares, and a willingness to listen to him. Her intelligence, motor functions, and overall body remained the same after the stints into what he called 'The Void'. So yes, in a way S-15 was right, he was killing her. However, there was no overall lasting effects to the 'death', so he saw no reason to stop the punishment. However, the accusation that was killing the human, doing something that would actually harm her? He ground his fangs together, and felt his magic burn within his husk. He wouldn't do anything to outright harm the human, his pursuit for knowledge was important yes, but he was not a sadistic beast intent on torturing her. Regardless what the experiment thought of his actions, all of them were done with consent, and each one ensured the humans survival. Gaining **EXP** , and by extension **LOVE** , was not his goal.

Only a beast would be proud of such a thing, and he was no beast. 

He opened up a drawer in the desk, and pushed aside a swath of white cloth bordered in lace, revealing a small glass and bottle. He took both out, and poured some of the strong whiskey into the shot glass. He easily knocked it back, letting the magic infused drink fizz and spark against his magic, bringing warmth into his body. He poured another shot of the drink, and knocked that back too, his magic reaching for it before it even went down his throat. 

* * *

You woke again covered in warmth. You blinked slowly, the darkness ebbing from your vision as you sat up. Your back popped, and your mouth was dry, you could taste ozone on your tongue. Of course he had sent you back to that place, it was because you had done...something. You couldn't remember the something, you never could after your stint in the darkness. Gaster said it was likely due to trauma, and your mind was compensating by blocking the memory. You had heard about those types of things happening on talk shows your mother and grandmother used to watch, so you were inclined to believe him this time. Besides, if it got the worst punishment Gaster ever gave you, then maybe it was best to forget and hope you didn't make the same mistake. 

You sighed and pushed the blankets off your body, and began the long process of sliding out of Gaster's bed. For someone who rarely slept, he had a gigantic bed. It was large enough to fit four people of average size comfortably, plus some. You suspected it was thanks to his sexual preferences, but was smarter than to even breathe the thought out loud. Once your feet hit the floor, you slowly stood up, your knees popping and blood rushing to your legs. You yelped and grabbed onto the satin blankets, almost falling face first. Just how long had you been out for? 

You glanced over to the clock that was hanging above the dresser. It was only six o'clock, though you weren't sure if it was morning or evening. You carefully made your way to the door, and opened it up, a rush of cold air flooding the warm room, and causing goosebumps to rise along your arms. From here you could smell something burning, it reminded you of rubber and oil. You crept down the hall, and smoke began to fill the air, making harsh coughs to escape your lungs. They mixed with the sound of pans clanking together, and shrill outbursts of agitation. 

You peeked your head into the kitchen, just to find Papyrus standing on a stack of books in front of the stove, smoke billowing out of a burning skillet on the eye, and your apron dwarfing his small body. He poked the skillet with a metal spatula, but it only caused some to get in his face, making his groan and whine. You held back a laugh as you went over to him, and switched the stove off. The child whipped around, sockets wide as he stared up at you, his arms wrapping around your waist. "Momma!"

"Careful, Papyrus. You might fall."

"B-but I thought you were gone!" He said, ignoring your warning completely. "Sans was gone, and so were you. Then Mr. Gaster brought you back, and then you wouldn't get up, and then-"

Your leaned down and kissed the top of his skull. He shut up then, and nuzzled his nasal cavity into your chest. "It's alright, I'm fine now. What about your brother? Has he come back yet?"

Papyrus let go of you completely, and jumped off the books, before grabbing your hand. He led you out of the room, and into the hall. He went to the metal door in the very back, and opened it up. Unlike your room, this one was completely bare. There were to cots in the corner, and a few books scattered here and there. But there was no pictures, action figures, or anything else that helped give life to a young man's room. Papyrus dragged you to the cot on the left, where Sans was laid out. The blankets were on the floor, his clothes missing, and his ribs were scorched. You knelt down, and pressed a finger against one, and traced it a few inches, something gritty picking up along the pad of your finger. When you brought your hand back up, you were unsurprised to find a fine film of dust to cover your finger. 

"He won't wake up." Papyrus said. "He won't even eat, and he likes to eat. So I thought I'd make him the best food ever!"

"Yeah?"

Papyrus nodded. "It's almost done. All it needs is syrup."

"Well go get it, and let's try to feed it to him."

Papyrus ran back into the hallway, his bare feet clacking against the tile. When you heard cabinets opening and shutting, you turned back to the skeleton. You'd seen this happen before, to the other experiments. Though, they only lasted a solid minute or so in their beast forms, before 'falling down' as monsters called this comma like state. Their bodies had far more damage though, with shattered skulls, broken ribs, and missing limbs. Sans must be very strong, to have survive as long as he did, and only now getting this hurt. You leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek bone, before leaning back on your haunches, and petting his skull. In a way, you were very proud of the skeleton Sans had become. He was incredibly smart, if not a bit of a jackass, and was a good big brother. Out of all the children you had birthed for Gaster, he was the only one to survive that transformation. 

Then again, Sans was always a bit of a fighter. 

He had survived the separation of his soul from yours even though the first six of your children had been unable to. Then he survived working under Gaster, and his abysmal treatment towards him, being seen as less than nothing, only an experiment that could be tossed away. Finally was the transformation from beast to monster. Not only had he survived it, but he had been fully functional, albeit tired, after the fact. Even now he was all in one piece, and hadn't turned to dust at the slightest touch. It was thanks to Sans' over all success, that Gaster had impregnated you again, through a different method, and had given you Papyrus. 

The door slammed open again, and small feet hurried across the tile, a tray filled with burnt...something on a plate, with a bottle of sugar crystal syrup next to it. Papyrus set the tray on his brother's lap, and poured a copious amount of syrup onto the food. "Look, brother! I made pancakes! Look," He stabbed the mystery food once with a fork, and held it up to his brother's teeth. "See, pancakes! I made them just for you." 

 "..."

"Sans?"

"..."

The fork fell with a clatter, and the boy began trying to pry his brother's mouth open. "Stop being so lazy, Sans! I know you can eat, silly. I-I've seen you do it. So stop napping, already!"

You knelt down and wrapped your arms around the small skeleton, pulling him into your chest. He wriggled against you, sobbing as hard as he could, an off orange oozing from his sockets, but wouldn't let go of his brother. You weren't sure what to do with the crying child, the only thing that came to mind was memories of a tall woman singing, while adjusting her dreads in the mirror. So, that's exactly what you did, singing songs your mother did in a terrible off-key voice that would make even the most tone deaf person run in fear. It didn't stop his crying, or wake up Sans, or any other miracles, but it did stop you from feeling useless. Like you could actually do something for your sons, even if you'd let them down so many times before. 

* * *

Gaster came back into the room smelling like cheap booze and paint. He sat on the bed, loosening his tie, and reached out to touch your face with the other hand. You flinched away from him, but this didn't stop him from petting your cheek like he always did. "I didn't expect you to wake up so soon."

"..."

"It is alright for you to be upset with me." He acknowledged. "It is only a natural reaction to your punishment."

"Is Sans a success?"

"What-"

"Just answer the question." You sat up, crawling onto his lap, and pressing your hands into his shoulders to keep yourself steady. The scent of alcohol was stronger now, it was clear he'd been drinking for the majority of the time you'd been asleep. Two weeks, according to Papyrus. "Is Sans a success."

"Arguably, yes."

 "Then-"

"He's not a pet, Dearest." Gaster said. "He's an experiment, one that has only finished one phase. Yes, that's beyond what every other one of the failures had ever accomplished, but it is not complete. S-15 and P-1 still have their goals to accomplish, and this entire charade is only the first step. I do not understand why this is so difficult for you to grasp."  You gasped as you were forced onto your back, Gaster hovering over your body now. a single pupil formed in his right socket, the reddish-blue light bathing the entire room. "I want you to be happy, dearest. But you cannot settle your happiness on those who will inevitably die. They are not our children, no matter how much you wish for it to be so."

Our...

He never said that. He always said that they weren't 'your' children, but he never included himself into the equation. Personally, you didn't think Gaster was capable of caring for anyone outside of his scientific aspirations, and experiments. Anything else was purely a coincidence, such as yourself. He claimed to care about you, in his own sick way, but it was probably all thanks to the fact you were the only human that was even marginally close to 'mating' age. The other two you had seen were ten and six, respectively. If you had just been another child, or even male, you probably would have been considered worthless to him, just another human. You shut your eyes as you felt cold fangs graze your lips in a pseudo kiss, you opened your mouth on instinct, and allowed the warm tongue to worm its way into your mouth, effectively capturing your attention again. You pulled back, eyes narrowed, but he didn't seem to care as he pressed his forehead to yours. 

"I know none of this pleases you, dearest." He said. "But it will eventually come to fruition."

One of his arms curled around your waist, forcing you closer to his body. The chill soaked through your clothes, and caused you to shudder. He ground his pelvis against your own, revealing his intentions. Bile rose in your throat, and anger sputtered in your chest, but nothing came to the surface as he began to slide off your shirt, revealing your body to him. It had been a long time since you felt repulsed by sex, but the steps to distance yourself from the act came upon you like an old friend meeting for the first time in a bar. Your chest became hollow, and your thoughts drifted to some of the drawings that Papyrus had insisted you help with him. You leaned back among the pillows and blankets, allowing him to pull your shirt off of you completely. He tossed it away, and began to kiss up and down your neck in those pseudo kisses he could only perform. 

Your toes curled and you bit your lip as his fingers pulled down your underwear, the cloth not the least bit damp. He ignored it as he pushed your thighs apart, using more force than necessary when you tried to lock your legs and keep them in place. Now you were bare to him, your cunt exposed and the slightest bit damp from his rough treatment. You tried to push the thought away, and remind yourself this wasn't what you wanted, but it went ignore as two fingers sunk into your cunt. There was a slight burn, but it wasn't the worse thing that you had felt, you knew Gaster could do worse when he wanted to. You heard the telltale jingle of a belt buckle, and the familiar spark of his magic against your outer lips. 

He sunk into your core without a thought, his magic igniting your body. You remained motionless as he pulled out to the very tip, before ramming back in, low growls rumbling through his chest as he fucked you. Every once in a while he would ask for you to beg, and you would do as he asked, with the tone that he wanted, at the volume he preferred. And when he was satisfied, his magic slogging down your thighs, and your body cradled into his own, you felt disgusting. Your chest felt cold now, and all the bites and scratches burned with a sharp intensity that forced you to focus on them. You pushed out an arm, trying to distance yourself from the ghoul, but that only constricted his arm around you, eliciting a whimper from your lips. You wriggled again, this time forcing your body to turn around so you no longer faced him. You took several deep breaths and shut your eyes, willing yourself into a fitful sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Gaster clearly doesn't think some of his actions are wrong. Though, we really haven't seen the full catalog of things he's done so...And yes, Reader has had at a ton of children, and here it is confirmed that both Sans and Papyrus are hers. Isn't that nice?
> 
> Know what isn't nice? My tumblr! http://nihilismpastry.tumblr.com/


	5. Trails of Examination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster is quick to pick up on things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gore Level: Low
> 
> Wow, you guys had quite the reaction to last chapter. XD Just wait until serious things start happening, I'd be a bit worried.

You awoke to the blankets shifting off your body, and a hard pressure on your lips. Your eyes fluttered open, just to see Gaster getting out of the bed. You slowly sat up and rubbed at your eyes, a dull pain thrumming in your skull, and the skin under your eyes sticky from tears. Without being told, you slipped out of bed, and went to the bathroom to clean yourself up. A quick scrubbing and you were as clean as you were going to get, his cum had a bad habit of staining your thighs, you hopped out of the shower and dressed in something comfortable that you wouldn't mind getting rumpled and wrinkled since you had every intention staying in bed, and not getting out for anything. If Papyrus wanted your attention, he could snuggle with you while reciting math theorems. You left the bathroom, smoothing the hair out of your face as you did, and was surprised to find Gaster still there. He was sitting on the bed, impeccably dressed as always, and hand his head in his hands. 

"Hangover?"

"No." He sighed and lifted his head, revealing the fact he had dark bags under his sockets. It gave you some form of sick satisfaction to know that his night wasn't peaceful either."You will be accompanying me to the Hotland lab. I have something I would like to test, but do no possess the necessary equipment to do so here."

It wasn't often that you went to the lab in Hotland. The last time it happened was two years ago, when you had Papyrus. He needed staff members and a monster mid-wife to help with the birth, among other things. You didn't exactly remember much of your time in the place, you were hopped up on enough drugs to put down a horse, and had been damn near delirious from the lack of sleep once Papyrus was born. You had even been surprised to wake up in your bed with Sans holding an infant Papyrus by your bedside. Your nose wrinkled at the thought, and you shook your head. "Is it really necessary?"

"Yes, it is." He pushed himself off the bed and went to the closet, taking out your 'special' clothes. Basically, they were for the few times that you left this place, and went to a function or the palace. They were mostly dresses, skirts, blouses, and the odd flats or heels, and anything else that was better than your usual slip on dresses that he provided for you. He handed you a pair of slacks and a blouse. "I believe I have found an anomaly within your soul. Now, unless you would like to begin rotting from the inside out, I suggest you dress and follow me, dearest."

You took the clothes reluctantly, earning a smirk and a pat on the head from Gaster. You stiffened from the gesture, but you were smart enough not to object to the display of affection as he left the room, shutting the door behind himself. You quickly dressed, and put on a pair of black flats, the only thing that you had really any choice with, before leaving the room to find the scientist. You found him down the hall, locking the boys' bedroom door. He looked up from the keypad, and clicked a button, a red light flashing. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah..."

He slipped the key card into his coat pocket, before offering his arm to you. It was a gentlemanly display, one that would have made you swoon as a little girl. You took his thin arm, and allowed him to escort you to the 'forbidden' stairwell. There was nothing stopping any of you from going up it, only another keypad with a password, and the fact that Gaster traveled from that place often enough, that he would probably realize if someone so much as sneezed anywhere near it. You once had to cover for Papyrus when he tried to play on the steps when he was younger. Somehow, Gaster had known someone was on the steps as soon as he came home that evening, and you were almost sure he didn't believe your lie to this day. 

Gatser tapped out the code on the keypad, his large palms obscuring the actual keypad from view. Even though there were giant holes in his palms, there was a darkness obscuring the view to the other side. In cases like this, it was inconvenient. If you could see the code, you could probably run away with Sans and Papyrus, or at least try to. The door opened up, revealing a snazzy office. The walls were all painted a boring beige, but there was colorful posters, and heavy, wooden bookcases filled with books. There was a heavy desk in the room, covered in paper work, pens, and an empty mug. Gaster led you out of the office, and into a room filled with monsters all working on heavy machinery. 

A few of them looked up from their tools and papers, giving Gaster a nod while openly staring at you, but otherwise didn't get in your way. Gaster led you to a small hallway, that opened up to a large room. In it was a gigantic machine that was a shiny chrome, and built like a demonic goat skull, suspended from the ceiling with pulleys, wires, and platforms. A giant snake like monster was bent over a podium in front of the machine, a long pink tongue flicking at the buttons. "Serpan, will you bring the Determination Extractor down."

The snake snapped its head towards you, the tongue slipping back into its mouth. Green eyes stared for a moment, before it nodded and turned back to the podium. A few clicks later, and steam burst out the machine with a high pitched squeal. The machine slowly lowered itself down, and it became apparent just how huge the thing actually was. It was bigger than a bus, and could fit inside the average living room on its own, maybe even push into a kitchen while it was at it. There was a mechanical click, and the top of the skull opened up with another burst of steam. "We won't be using it for proper extraction, Serpan. I want to be able to monitor her determination levels on the screen." 

You stiffened as Gaster picked you up, and set you inside the machine. The metal was cold,and soaked through your clothes, causing goosebumps to rise along your skin. Gaster smoothed back the hair in your face, only helping the shudders coursing down your spine, and the worry worming it way through your chest. "Gaster-"

"It's only a quick observation, dearest. I promise it will be over before you know it." He reached a hand into his pocket, taking out a metal syringe filled with a shimmery, blue liquid. "This will relax you. When you wake up, you'll be in your own bed, as if nothing ever happened."

You tried to scoot away from him, but your shoulder bumped into a metal wall. The jarring pain made a whimper escape your lips, but it was quickly muffled by a hand, and a sharp pain in your neck. Your veins burned as they took in the foreign substance, and dark spots filled your vision, you tried to move away again as Gaster pressed his teeth to your lips. You could have sworn he said something, but you didn't hear it as your eyes shut, and you slipped into a fitful sleep. 

* * *

Gaster stared at the paper in his hands. When he saw the numbers on the screen, he could scarcely believe it, and had Serpan run the test three times afterwards. Even now, as he stared at the printed data, he was still sure he was seeing an error. The human was not born with a **Determination** based soul, at least he hadn't found her with that initial trait. Even the **Perseverance** that her soul was now cloaked in was purely artificial, and was added on a weekly basis. So, seeing such high  **Determination** levels was more than a little alarming. The stitches on her soul were made with a precise amount of **Determination**. Not enough to cause serious changes within her soul or personality, but enough to keep her from having such low **HoPe** after everything that had happened to her. 

He sighed and threw the papers onto her bedside table and left the room. He could try to extract the excess **Determination** within her soul, but he was worried the stitches would come apart. He could try to balance her soul with something else, perhaps even adjust her living conditions to keep her from relying so heavily on the **Determination** , but that would also lead to confusing her, and likely strengthening her distrust. For now, he would simply observe her, and hope that the absurd levels didn't taint her. He had seen first hand what pure **Determination** was capable of accomplishing, and he didn't need that sort of unbridled thoughtlessness within his human. 

Gaster left the room, and went down the hall. He settled his magic, and schooled his features, before pressing the code into the keypad. The door whirred, before the light on the pad turned green. Gaster pushed the door open, and peered inside the room. P-1 was sitting on S-15's bed, his knees to his chin, and a pale blue mist pouring from his sockets. S-15 was still sleeping, though the scorching along his ribs had faded, possibly due to P-1 cleaning them.  Speaking of the smaller skeleton, he seemed to have noticed him, and was rubbing his sockets, trying to clear away the excess magic. "H-hi."

"Good evening, P-1. I assume S-15 has yet to awaken from his slumber?"

"No..."

The ghoul went over to the cot and knelt down. P-1 inched away form him, but Gaster elected to ignore the movement as he looked over the other skeleton. His bones were an off gray, likely thanks to the lack of bleaching. His bones were also thinner than they had been before his transformation, not nearly as thick. It was akin to the human loosing weight when she did not eat, but the reason for this shift in mass was a mystery. Technically, S-15 did not have to eat a large quantity of food, he was able to steal magic from out of the air and process it.

Similar to echo flowers, in that respect. 

It was just pointless, and a waste of energy for him to gather magic from food. Once he awakened, he would have to do some more monitoring. He pressed several fingers against the bones, and dust clung to his husk. It was fine and soft, almost like a dusting of flour or baby powder. Obviously he wasn't dying, just the results of typical wear and tear of being of **HoPe** less skeleton. Gaster stood up, and wiped the dust off on his lab coat.

Yes, S-15 was going to live, and had not 'Fallen Down' yet. 

However...

His gaze shifted to the still silent P-1. The boy straightened under his gaze, but otherwise didn't move. "I want you to be up and dressed in the morning, we have much to do, and will have very little time to do it."

"Yes, sir."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not an exciting chapter, but it does explain a thing here and there. However, I wonder what made Gaster look into checking on her DT levels? And now you know that Sans doesn't have to eat, a head canon I've had for awhile. 
> 
> Know what does have to eat? My tumblr! http://nihilismpastry.tumblr.com/


	6. Trails of Tears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster begins his work on Papyrus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gore Level: Moderate
> 
> Time to break the cutie.

Gaster opened up the door to the lab, and allowed P-1 to enter the room. The boy's feet dragged against the floor, and he wrung his phalanges as he took in the room. The mist had long stopped oozing from his eye sockets, but his bones still rattled, and his stature was still hunched over. All signs of fear or distrust, likely generated from his fellow experiment's re-tellings of this place. He gestured to a large, metal chair connected by several cables to a cube shaped generator settled next to a cooling vent. "Take a seat, P-1."

The boy did as he was told, though he was still slow about it. Good, at least they wouldn't need to start with finding the old shock collar. S-15 had snapped the last one, and ate the shocking mechanism. Gatser crossed the room and bent down, and snapped the metal restraints shut. He then pressed a button on the side, forcing them to tighten around the experiment's thin wrists and neck. P-1 whimpered, and the phalanges on his feet curled, but was otherwise compliant. Gaster curled a finger under the metal and pulled, when it didn't loosen, he slipped his finger out and stood up. "I will be administering basic tests to monitor your tolerance to various magic types, and how large your overall cap is. If you feel any abnormalities within your magic, you will tell me, and I will discern if the results are problematic or not. Do you understand?"

The boy jerked his head, just to be stopped by the restraints. "Y-yes, sir."

Gaster went to the cube shaped generator, and opened up a panel. The cube itself was a black metal that had several veins along the side that glowed a faint grey at the moment. With a click of a button, the veins began glowing a faint green. He switched a few knobs, and the generator began to hum, and a green light flickered on in the panel. He removed a long needle that was connected to the panel by a thin cord, and went over to the small skeleton. Pupils had grown in his normally empty sockets, their white light bounced around the room, and blue mist swirled around them. Gaster knelt down to his level, and pressed a hand to his skull, keeping it in place. "Keep your sockets open."

"Y-Yes, sir-AH!"

He pushed the needle into the socket, piercing the thin veil of magic that allowed the skeletons to see without a proper eye. Blue slime spilled from his socket, down his cheek, and into his open mouth. His legs tried to kick out, but Gaster summoned an extra pair of hands to hold them down. He ignored the screams as he pressed the needle deeper into his skull, being slow enough so he wouldn't make the hole bigger than it needed to be, but with enough force so he could quickly hit the back of the skull. This method, though messy and dangerous, was the only way it could work with a skeleton. The skull had a concentrated area of magic that easy to pierce thanks to their need for magic to upkeep their ability to see. It was no different than the gaping, magma filled hole within a vulkin's head, it was easier to pierce compared to the hard, stone exterior. 

The needle scrapped against the back of his skull, eliciting another scream from the boy, and Gaster stopped pushing. He pressed a button on the needle's handle, and five spokes embedded themselves into his outer sockets. Gaster stood up, and wiped his hand off on his lab coat, and dismissed the other two holding the boy down. He stared at the boy for a moment, making sure there was no sign of his magic destabilizing, and him becoming a dust cloud. No, everything was in order, and he had even stayed conscious. A sight above S-15 and S-14. He went back to the panel and began checking the readings, his initial magic type was stable and blue like S-15. That part wasn't important really, what he needed to see was if he had any residual of the other color magics, along with his magic cap. A monster naturally had a magic cap, but those limits could be pushed to a new limit with some time and effort. The machine would tell him how much he could push at it without dusting him off the bat, along with how much of the other color magics could be pushed. If he was anything like his brother, then it was likely that only his 'natural composition' and his blue magic would be able to be expanded. 

He glanced back to the skeleton when the lights flickered. "This will take five hours to finish. Unless you would like me to start over due to compromised data, I suggest you stop moving."

* * *

You awoke to long arms curling around your waist. You blinked a few times, fighting the sleep that was still dancing on the edge of your mind. Your eyes fluttered open, and you were unsurprised to find Gaster laying down next to you, his sockets open and his thumb rubbing along your hip. The ghoul seemed to notice you were awake, and pressed his fangs to your forehead. "Good morning, my dear."

You slept all afternoon and evening? Holy hell, that drug was strong. You sat up, ignoring the ghouls staring, and smoothed out your hair. Gaster must have worked into the night, if he was bothering to come to bed now. Though, that was a bit strange. Typically, he would just find some caffeine tablets and go back to work, as if he didn't even need to sleep. "Is something happening today?"

"Now what would prompt you to ask such a question?"

"You're here even though it's morning."

"So it would seem." He dragged you back into the bed, and pinned you under him. You felt your face warm, and you wriggled under him, pushing the blankets off your chest and down to your waist in the process. You flinched as he bent down and pressed his teeth to your scarred chest,just above your heart. "I do have work, unfortunately. However, I wanted to visit you first before going to the lab." He replaced the true hand pinning down your left hand with a magic one, and caressed your cheek. "Regardless what you believe, I do care for you. Beyond the experiments and breeding," You gasped when you felt him nip against the soft skin. "I treasure your soul, dearest. More than all of those other qualities combined."

"Flattery isn't a good look on you."

"My dear, you forget that I do not indulge or dole out flattery." He sat up, his magic left a sparking residue along your skin, along with a chill that made you want to cover back up. "I meant every word." 

A vibration erupted next to your leg, and you snickered. "You happy to see me?"

He didn't respond as he slipped off the bed, and pulled his phone out of his pocket, already talking as he left the room. You rolled out of bed, almost smacking your face against the tiled floor, and quickly dressed. Once your clothes were in place, you left the room and to the kitchen. You were more than relieved to find Papyrus hadn't gotten impatient and tried to cook. You took down a pan, and flicked on the stove top, before going to the fridge and taking out some potatoes. You were going to make some hash browns for breakfast. Maybe even top them with strips of fried toad, one of the few fried things Papyrus didn't mind eating. 

You poured some oil into the pan, before going to the small pantry, and grabbed three large potatoes, before taking them to the sink. You turned on the water, and began lightly scrubbed them with a small tooth brush. Your grandmother never used a potatoes scrubber, said it was a waste of money. Besides that, you doubted Gaster would even know what that was. He had barely knew what a bottle scrubber was when Papyrus was born, you were lucky all the chemicals and prodding didn't impeded your ability to breastfeed. 

You switched off the water, and set the potatoes on the counter, before opening up the drawer and taking out a sharp knife. You quickly sliced the potatoes, and set them in the hot oil, before grabbing a spatula out the drawer and waiting on the potatoes to brown. You shifted from one foot to the other, your gaze occasionally going to the doorway. Typically Papyrus would be up by the time you started cooking, and would be eager to help. It was always Sans who slept until the last possible second. You flipped the hash browns over, and waited for the other side to brown. 

You hoped he wasn't staying awake all night, hoping Sans would randomly wake up. While you were hopeful Sans would get out of his coma, you didn't think it would happen so soon. A little over two week wasn't a lot of time for a monster. Granted, Sans wasn't a normal monster, but they were pretty long lived, and you doubted a six year coma would be a lot to a monster who was supposed to live a thousand years, give or take. 

You ladled the hash browns off the pan, and onto a plate. You licked your lips as you got a whiff of the crunchy potatoes. All they needed was some salt and ketchup, then they'd be perfect. You set the spatula in the sink, before stealing one of the slices off the top and popped it into your mouth, and going to the boys' room. Looked like you got your old job of alarm clock back. 

You opened the door and peered inside. The room was dark, and the Sans' bed had two lumps on it. You smiled and tiptoed over to them, and knelt down. "Papyrus, I made breakfast~." The smaller lump twisted around, but didn't sit up. You gave a soft sigh, and tapped his covered skull with your knuckle, a hollow thump echoing from it. "Ccome on, you don't want it to get cold." 

When he didn't move, you grabbed a handful if the blanket, and pulled it away. Your eyes widened, and you stumbled back as you dropped the blanket to the floor, your hand flying to your mouth. Papyrus stared up at you, the left side of his face covered in a crusty blue mess, that had a full glow. There were cracks around his socket, that veined up the entire left side of his face. His jaw was unhinged, and threatened to fall off at given moment. 

You grabbed him by the shoulders, and dragged him over Sans' body, pulling him to your chest, and pressing his skull to neck. "Oh baby, I'm so sorry. I didn't..."

Didn't know? You knew Gaster would use him eventually. Papyrus, like Sans, was always an experiment. The only reason it had taken this long was thanks to Sans playing as a good distraction. Now that he was unconscious for who knows how long, all attention was put on the small skeleton. It was sad, but true, something you'd know that would eventually happen. 

You grit your teeth, and carefully put the skeleton down next to his brother, before covering them both with a blanket. "Stay right there, I'll go find something to help, okay?"

Papyrus nodded, and you pressed a kiss on his forehead, before standing up again and leaving the room. You couldn't do much, but you were rather skilled at fixing up bones. S-10, Samara, was a bit clumsy. It was normal to find her with a cracked skull, or twisted fingers. Once, you had to super glue part of her ribs back together after she fell down the stairs. The fact that she laughed it off, no matter the injury, had both amazed and concerned you. According to Gaster, she'd even laughed when she'd turned to dust during an experiment. 

You shook your head, trying to clear away the dark thoughts. Dwelling on the past wasn't going to save Papyrus, you had to act. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whelp...Poor Papyrus. I really didn't want to hurt him, but it must be done! For science! And yes, reader thought about one of her older kids. She's not naming them, by the way. They come up with their own names, or the workers come up with a name for them. 
> 
> Know what doesn't have a name? My tumblr! http://nihilismpastry.tumblr.com
> 
> Actually, I need a good nick name for human. What should Sans, and eventually Papyrus, call Human? If you have any ideas, let me know! 
> 
> Also! I'm answering asks for this story in-character on my tumblr. It's only for characters that have been shown, and in the case of the dead skeletons, if they were mentioned. Here's my ask box. http://nihilismpastry.tumblr.com/ask


	7. Trails of Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You console yourself over the recent events.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gore Level: High
> 
> It's a doozy, folks.

_**Mine** _

_**Need** _

_**Mine** _

Blood splattered all over his clothes, staining them a dark red that stood out against his lab coat. He watched her fall to her knees, her body limp and leaning forward, as if the awkward position would help relieve the pain that he had inflicted on her. He let go of the limb, ignoring her yelp as the protruding bone scraped against her side, and ripped open part of her dress. "P-please don't! It hurts."

He ignored her please as he knelt down, pressing his hands to her cheek. She was so warm, compared to him, she had so much life in her body. It was unfair how much life she had, he wanted part of it. He wanted her soul to mingle with his own, igniting it, and cementing his desperate need. He leaned forward and pressed his fangs to her lips. He could taste salt and metal, a combination he could get used to coming from her. He curled his arms around her stiff body, and brought her into his lap, allowing her legs to settle comfortably at his sides. He nipped at her lower lip, forcing her to open her mouth, and allow his tongue to snake into the warm cavern. She tasted like cream and sugar crystal, a combination that reminded him of a sweet treat he used to get all the time when he was younger. He separated their mouths, a translucent trail of saliva connecting them together, giving him a pleasing if not romantic image in his mind. 

_**Mine** _

_**Need** _

_**Mine** _

He pushed himself forward, snapping the saliva, slowly reclining her onto her back so he could pin her down properly. His fingers dug into her wound, eliciting a harsh scream from her, but he ignored it as he stared pulled down her dress. The rest of her skin became bare for him, showing off every flaw, dip, and stretch of skin that she had to offer him. He leaned down, pressing his fangs against the scars on her chest, feeling the blood and vessels beat against him. He dug his fingers into the skin of her hips, more blood splattering onto the ground, and screams to echo through his room. He needed to rip off her skin, snap the bones, destroy the muscles, strip away everything that made her physical and save her soul. He leaned up and pressed a hand against her skin, and magic ignited under it, pulsing and filling the entire room with a pale blue glow. White dust began forming and combining together, becoming a giant several long pillars that floated over his head. 

"S-Sans." She was crying again, her tears mixing in with the blood. It was such a pretty color on her, if he wasn't pressed for time, he'd probably taste it again. "You don't have to do this. I-I promise we can talk about this, but please calm down. Please..."

_**Mine** _

_**Mine** _

_**Mine!** _

"sorry, babe." He ignored the glare on her face, then again those could just be spasms from pain, and scrapped some of the blood off her face. "it's for your own good. that soul in your chest is _mine_. gatser ain't gonna let you go, so i'm just gonna have to steal it from ya."

He brought his hand down, the pillars piercing through her chest and skull, more blood splashing along his bones, and sticking into his joints. He wiped some of the blood away, taking in the sight of his beloved. Her skull was cracked open, and there was an off gray muscle protruding from her skull, part of it dyed in red. Her eyeballs were missing, and there was some skin ripped off as well, revealing some of the pink muscles. But hovering over the mess, glazed in a brilliant purple with red stitches, and almost melted into a pile of slime, was her soul. He reached out and grabbed the soul, and cradled it to his chest, his smile lifting up at the edges. He summoned his own soul out of his rib cage, the inverted heart pulsing a pale blue that only thrummed harder when he brought her soul close to his. 

Finally, he had his baby. 

* * *

You brought Papyrus closer to your body, his bandages just changed for the third time that day. Gaster hadn't bothered to come around and take him away to be healed, so you were stuck doing the best you could. You would apologize and damn near cry every time Papyrus did, which only caused him to cry harder. In the end, you had found some alcohol in Gaster's room, and given the small skeleton just enough to pass out. You hoped there was no lasting effects, Gaster had told you once that monster food and drinks were made or infused with magic, allowing them to be edible for monsters. So far, the only thing Papyrus did was become rather quiet, before passing out on you chest. You gently smoothed your fingers along his skull, being careful of the cracks that had begun to fuse together with small veins of pale green. You'd seen something similar swirling around Sans' bones every once in awhile. and those places always grew more bone. You supposed it was his version of scabbing over, or the skin stitching back together or something, you couldn't remember you school lessons very well.

Your smile dropped at the thought. Just how long had it been since you'd had actual school lessons? You should be done with a bachelors degree by now, and high school too! You were supposed too start ninth grade before you fell into the Underground, the very next day would have been the start of the school year. Why had you even bothered to climb the mountain again? You were almost sure it was a dare, or some kind of initiation into one of the school clubs you wanted to join. You'd never been good at keeping up with people, and always bent over backwards to try to get others to like you. It'd make sense if falling to your doom was for a stupid reason like that. 

You glanced down at Papyrus as he nuzzled his face into your chest. Your lips curled into a smile and you bumped your own nose against his head, the hollow tap cutting through the silence. Maybe terrible things had happened, but then you wouldn't have gotten to know Sans and Papyrus, right? Or the fact that those old legends that used to go around town were true. If you ever did get out of here, would anyone even believe you though? Maybe you could bring Sans and Papyrus with you, granted they would look like the undead, but you were sure that you could convince your mother and grandmother to accept them. They were good monsters, probably the only ones in the entire Underground. Every other one so far had either tried to kill you, sentenced you to living with a ghoul, or experimented on you. If there was any redeeming quality about them, it was their strange magic.

You yawned and snuggled under the blanket, being careful not to jostle Papyrus too much. Yes, monsters were mostly terrible to you, but without them and their strange magic, you wouldn't have your kids. You sighed and shut your eyes, sleep already teasing the edge of your mind. Now if only their magic would wake up Sans, and put Papyrus back together. 

* * *

The dry rattle woke you up.

 Your first instinct was to check Papyrus. You'd almost rolled on him the few times he came to sleep with you when he was younger. Your fingers traced his body, checking for any dust clumps, but came up with clean hands. You sighed in relief, and glanced over to the other bed. Sans was still laying down, the blanket covering his body, but there was a glimmer of gray light coming from under the blanket. You detached Papyrus off of your chest, before crawling out of the bed, the springs of the thin cot squeaking and announcing your movement to the world. You paused half way out the bed, one foot on the floor, the other still under your but, and glanced back to the smaller skeleton. When he didn't cry for you, or make any movement at all, you finished extracting yourself out of the bed, and hurried to the other side of the room. You pushed the hair out of your face, and knelt down next to the bed. 

Sans' sockets were still shut, and there was no visible signs of cracks or dust clumps. You crept forward and pulled the blanket away, and was satisfied to see that his ribs, spine, and arms were also alright. However, the glow was coming from inside his rib cage, where a small upside down heart was floating. It was about as large as your fist, and there were cracks spider webbed along the surface. They had a dim blue coming from them, but it was so faint, that the gray coming from the rest of the heart over took it. 

It was his soul.

You'd seen a monster soul only once before. It was when you and Gaster got 'married' at the palace after you first got here. However, Gaster's didn't have any other colors, and was cracked and molten mess of shards. It had a lovely yet horrifying quality to it, something that could be found in long dead volcanoes, and mistaken for a magical stone. Sans' soul was cracked, but there was a smoother quality, hinting that it was still one piece, but had only gotten kicked around a little. You sighed and pressed your head against the cot, and shut your eyes, your fingers interlacing with his cold, still ones. With something so important just hovering in his rib cage, while he was making strange sounds, you decided it was probably best to stay close by. If he tried to hurt himself, or Gaster came along, you wanted to try and make things better, the best you could. If that meant holding him down, and trying to hide the glowing in his chest, so be it. 

Another dull rattle, followed by a cough. The cough became louder, and the light glowed through your eyelids. You sat up and frowned, the soul was now hovering outside his rib cage, and his mouth was open. You didn't even know Sans was able to open his mouth, he always kept it closed, even while he ate. "Sans?" You were answered by another cough and rattle. The soul was spinning in place now, the light becoming brighter. You heard the blankets behind you shuffle, and a low moan, no doubt Papyrus waking up. You flung an arm out in his direction. "Don't get out of the bed, Papyrus."

The heat in the room exploded, and at the same time a flash filled the room. Your eyes squeezed shut, your head pounding, and the light still burned into your eyeballs despite your eyelids covering them. The rough coughing slowly began to peter off, and the light dimmed away, while the temperature went back to its typical damp and almost too cold state. You cracked open an eye, and when you didn't go blind, you opened the other. The soul was no longer spinning above Sans, and instead was gone, leaving nothing behind. However, your gaze was ripped from the empty air, to your hand which had a light pressure around your digits. "Sans?"

"yeah?" Your gaze drifted up to his face. There were, somehow, deep bags under his sockets, and his voice was raspier than usual. A smile spread over your lips, and you launched yourself forward, pulling his head to your chest. "heh. miss my hug-some face?"

Your ignored his pun, and pressed a kiss to the top of his skull. "I was worried! Me and Papyrus! You've been alseep forever."

"you're still here. almost sure ya can't live as long as a monster."

 You carefully disentangled yourself from the skeleton, and sat back on your heels. "How're you feeling?"

"been better." He eased back into his pillow and shut his sockets. If there was a way to make a skeleton look boneless, Sans had mastered the art. "i'm the lucky one. been sleeping all this time. what about you and paps?" Your smile faltered, and you turned back to the other bed. Papyrus was still sound asleep, now using a pillow as his snuggle buddy. None of the bandages on his face had been disturbed, he looked almost peaceful like that. You turned back to Sans, who was staring at you now, small lights floating in his sockets now. He had a brow bone raised. "something i need to be concerned about?"

You leaned forward and pressed a hand against his forehead, prompting him to shut his sockets. "Rest right now. I'll talk to you about it later, okay?"

"promise?"

"Yeah...Promise."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup...Was Sans' thing a nightmare, or the desire from his soul? And how will he react when he finds out what's been happening since he was asleep? And what will Gaster do now that he has his previous experiment back? Will he even want Sans back? And what about Reader? Will Sans actually tear her apart? Who knows~!
> 
> Know what does know? My tumblr! http://nihilismpastry.tumblr.com/


	8. Trails of Rest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For once, good things happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gore Level: None

Gaster was almost in a good mood when you told him Sans was awake. There was a hint of a smile in his face, and he even looked up from his documents to focus on you. "And you're sure of this?" 

"He spoke to me and everything." You left out the part about his soul. You didn't know what level of importance that whole light show had been, and you didn't want Gaster exploiting it. From what you could tell, Sans had no idea that his soul had even done that, and you weren't so willing to spill the beans. "He fell back asleep though. He's been like that all night." 

Gaster set down the file he had been holding, and took your hand, escorting you out of the room and down the hall. You didn't object, even as he entered the boys' room, and adjusted the rooms lights, causing the mushrooms to glow brighter. Papyrus moaned and curled in on himself, while Sans was already sitting up, blinking his sockets wearily. Gaster let go of your hand, and went over to the skeleton, summoning an extra pair of hands to hold his skull in place, while he bent down and checked him over. His long fingers tapped at his ribs, wormed their way between them, before drawing his hand back and staring at it. "You managed to stay in one piece."

"sound disappointed."

"No, I was just expecting it." He said. "Your predecessor died in the Blaster state because their soul could not process so much void centric magic. I fully expected you to stay in your condition, or turn to dust when your soul had eaten away all the magic your body has stored." He dismissed his extra hands. "The fact that you haven't surprises me." 

You sighed and crossedboverbto the other bed, carefully picking up Papyrus. He whimpered and pressed his face to your neck. Hushed apologies escaped your lips as you situated him properly in your arms, and brought him over to Gaster. His sockets narrowed, but he didn't scold you as you tilted the small skeleton's face towards him. "He's still hurt."

"So his green magic is defense centric, not healing centric." He took the skeleton out of your arms. "That is fascinating, albeit disappointing. The barrier does no posses attack capabilities, as far as we know."

"you used him?" Your gaze shifted to Sans. The lights were gone from his sockets, and his fingers were curled into the blankets. He looked ready to jump out of the bed and attack Gaster. "i was successful-"

"You were unconscious for nearly three weeks." Gaster said. "Of course I would move onto my other experiment tool. It is only natural, as a scientist I would think you would understand such a simple concept." Sans stared remained, but his grip on the blanket loosened. "I will attend to P-1's injuries. I expect you to rest for now, S-15."

He swept out the room, Papyrus still conked out in his arms. He summoned an extra hand, and slammed the door shut behind him. The room was silent for several moments, before you smelled...A storm. It was a rain storm during the summer, just after a house fire. You gasped when you saw a glowing blue and yellow pupil in Sans' skull, the light almost taking up the entire right socket. There was sparks leaking from it, causing the beginning of a flame to burn along the side of his skull.

You had never been afraid of Sans. Not even when you saw him shamble out of his birthing tube for the first time, black slime slogging onto the floor, pouring from every orifice in his body. Yet as you stared at him now with the flaming eye, and his permanent smile taking a fearsome edge, you couldn't help but take a step back from the bed. He didn't seem to notice as the flame became brighter, and the light began to flicker. You heard a quiet cracking above you, and you looked up in time to see the globe holding the mushrooms shatter. You shrieked and fell to your knees, shielded your head with your hands and shut your eyes, the glass pelting along your back and arms, some of the shards sticking into your skin, and ripping your clothes. When the shower of glass finally stopped, you slowly raised your head and lowered your arms, some of the shards falling out of your hair and onto the tiles. 

The room was dark now. The light was out of Sans' sockets, not even the small pinpricks he usually displayed when Gaster wasn't around. When nothing happened, you slowly stood up, your knees popping and something warm and sticky oozing down your arms and the back of your neck. You glanced over to the skeleton, he was slumped against the pillows, the blanket flung to the floor, and a gaping black hole was over his head. Your eyes peered into the twisting darkness, somehow it was blacker than the room itself, yet you could clearly see the outline of a landscape, mountains and rolling hills, all jutting up from the abyss. However the most fantastic thing was the skeletal arms raking through the hair, just above Sans' head. The long fingers had black ooze dripping from them, but it never hit the bed, instead it floated right back into the darkness, in a never ending cycle of reverse rain. 

You stretched out your hands, and slowly inched closer to the bed. This reminded you of  every interaction you ever had with Schrill, or S-7. She had been violent, and more than ready to lash out at anyone that merely looked her way. Gaster had dusted her himself after she had tried to kill him in the middle of a training session. She was probably the only child that you didn't feel any guilt over. You were hoping Sans wouldn't turn out the same, that you wouldn't have to watch Gaster rip him apart and crush his soul. "S-Sans?"

He didn't look up.

He didn't even move. 

Taking it as a good sign, you slowly crawled onto the bed until you were settled next to him, your muscles bunched up, ready to jump away at a moment's notice. When nothing happened, you leaned forward and pulled him to your chest. You didn't get a chance to coddle him the same way you did his brother. Sans had come out of the birthing-tube a full fledged adult, you had birthed Papyrus, though his baby stage was ridiculously short. You sighed and pressed your lips to his forehead, humming some song you had heard all the time as a kid, rocking your bodies side to side in a mock slow dance like motion. You paused when you felt thin arms wrap around your waist, fingers curling into your hips, shredding more of your dress. 

"i'm an idiot."

"Sans-"

"no, listen." He leaned back so he could look at you, his eye lights back in his sockets, though dim. "thought i could do anything. all the others couldn't do what i can, so i got cocky. i'm no better than the others. i know that now."

"Sans, you're not as much of a failure as you think." He gave a dry laugh, but you shook your head. "No, I'm being serious. S1-6 died the minute their souls separated from mine. S-7 was killed by Gaster because she was too violent, S-8 died in the middle of an experiment, while S-9 died in their sleep, S-10 also died during an experiment, while S-11 killed himself...Do you get what I'm saying? All of the others died some way or another, and only you had lasted as long as you have. The closest one was S-14, Gaster's apprentices called him Stark. He lasted for six months, and died shortly after becoming the bea-blaster." You swallowed hard. "He...You both would have liked him. He was a nerd, just like you. Always going on and on about the different things he learned in the lab, anything and everything to do with cells. He was fascinated by the fact I wasn't composed of magic and dust." You shook your head. "That's not the point. Sans, you're smart and powerful, the most powerful of any of my kids. If anyone can do what Gaster needs, it's you. You're mortal, even if you have a huge life span, you're gonna have limitations and make mistakes. It's the way life is."

"yeah?"

You nodded, and pulled him back to your chest. "If anyone is to blame, it's me. I haven't been strong enough to say no, or to change Gaster's mind on this-"

"there ain't a thing you can do." He said, cutting you off. "you're a human. you don't have magic, weapons, or anything. can't do a thing against him. most people would wanna die after what you've been through, anyway. shows you're plenty strong."

"Hypocrite."

He shrugged, but didn't take back the statement. You didn't feel strong, in fact you felt rather pathetic, but if Sans didn't blame you for everything, then you could rest easier knowing that the only good things in your life didn't hate you yet. 

* * *

Gaster ended up bringing Papyrus back, fully healed, and wearing a patch over his right eye socket. The boy practically squealed upon seeing his brother, and leap into his arms, nuzzling his head into his chest, a blue mist pouring from his eye sockets. You weren't given a chance to bathe in the reunion, however, as Gaster led you back to his room.  He didn't do anything to you this time, he didn't really speak to you either, he just looked over the many documents that probably came from the Hotland lab. The two of you remained that way until he got up, mumbling something about needing to run some numbers with a colleague. Heavy with the day's events, it didn't take much prompting to get you in the shower, and back into bed. 

The next two days, none of you really saw Gaster. It wasn't the rarest thing in the world, but it was nice. You cooked for the boys, and helped Papyrus with his school work, Sans occasionally jumping in on things you didn't understand. Which then lead the two of you going back an entire chapter, and him explaining some type of theorem that made your head hurt. There didn't seem to be anything drastically different with Sans. He was still a goofball that liked to joke around, and was a doting big brother to Papyrus. However, his gaze would always linger on your chest, sometimes it was more blatant than others, but it was clear he didn't care if he was caught or not. You weren't really sure what to make of this. You knew it was only natural, he was a young man after all, but you were his mother. Sure, you had only carried his soul for a grand total of a month, but you and Gaster had to consummate souls in order for his soul to be born. Part of you was inside Sans, and you couldn't even imagine him wanting anything else from you except motherly love. 

You watched as Papyrus yawned, rubbing his sockets with one hand, while loosely holding a pencil with the other. You knelt down and plucked the boy off the floor, holding him on your hip. "Let's go take a nap. We really deserved it."

"NO!" He jerked his head up, almost smacking you in the nose. "I can finish, I promise!"

 "you might be able to but i'm beat." Sans pushed himself to his feet, and stuck his hands into his pant's pockets. "let's nap."

Papyrus whined the whole way there, his fingers curled around the straps of your dress. When you got to the room, Sans flopped onto his brother's bed, and pat the spot next to him. With even more whining, begging, and pleading, you peeled his fingers off your dress, and put the small skeleton on the bed. You pushed him closer to his brother, and pulled the blankets over them both. You did your best to ignore Sans as he stared down the front of your dress, and continued to tuck his brother into bed. You pressed a kiss to the top of his skull, before pulling yourself up. When you turned around, you felt something pull on the back of your skirt. "Mama, can you sleep with us?"

You turned back to the small skeleton. He somehow contorted his face enough to pass for pouting. You'd stopped trying to figure out monster biology a long time ago, but this look always threw you through a loop. You sighed and crawled into the bed, letting Papyrus try to tuck you in, before he finally settled down. It only took a few minutes for him to fall asleep, his body rattling every once in awhile. You sighed and shut your eyes, pulling the small skeleton to your chest. You heard the bed shift a few times, before you felt thin arms loop around both you and Papyrus. Your eyes snapped open, and you saw Sans' face only inches from yours, his eye lights still twinkling in his skull. The edges of his smile were turned up just the smallest bit, and you felt one of his thumbs rub against your hip bones in gentle circles. It was intimate, something you'd felt Gaster do when he was drunk. 

Were you supposed to say something now? Ask why he was doing this? If he knew what he was doing was wrong? Or maybe you should just ignore it. Sans likely thought he wasn't doing anything wrong. Papyrus was always clinging to you in some way or another, maybe he just saw it as the same thing his brother did? If that was the case, maybe it was wrong to scold him then. Sans was friendly enough towards you, but it wasn't often that he engaged in affection without you you starting it. Granted he was a grown man, physically and mentally, but it was just...

You guessed you were just hungry for love and affection.

Papyrus gave you plenty, when Gaster wasn't stalking you three, and the ghoul would give it to you in tiny scraps. You were so thirsty for the hugs and kisses that you sometimes dreamt about. You could even see a wrinkled face sometimes, so close to your own while she left a wet kiss to your cheek, smudging dark purple lipstick all over your skin, and leaving a sweet smell on your clothes. 

You shut your eyes and took in a deep breath. Maybe you were just thinking about this too hard, and not accepting the hug. If his hand drifted lower, then you'd say something. You wiggled an arm free of Papyrus' iron grip, and interlaced your fingers with the ones on your hip. You heard Sans rattle, but you felt his bones curl around your fingers, squeezing tight enough that a few of your bones popped. 

"sorry."

"You're fine." You whispered, cracking an eye open. A dark blue covered his cheekbones, and the lights in his eyes pulsed the same shade of blue. "Sans..."

"yeah?"

"I love you."

The pupils became larger, and the blue on his face darkened, but he didn't answer. Your grip on his hand slacked until it was limp, with only Sans keeping you in place. Why did you think he would answer you? That term was not thrown around, Gaster never used it, and you'd be caught dead before you used it with him. On top of that, you didn't use it with Papyrus, he had a habit of repeating things he shouldn't. And then Sans...He didn't even like it when you called yourself 'mom', you didn't think he would take kindly to those words.

"Sorry..."

"you're fine." His grip on your hand tightened, and he pulled both you and Papyrus closer to him. His teeth pressed against your forehead. "love you too."

A smile curled on your lips, and you snuggled deeper into the blanket, happy to have your sons close and happy. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me tell you guys! My internet was acting crazy, it was a miracle this chapter came out at all. 
> 
> Anyway! So this was a restful chapter...mostly. Stuff is going on with Sans, and Reader is staring to crave something better. Gaster better watch out. 
> 
> Know what doesn't have to be better? My tumblr! http://nihilismpastry.tumblr.com
> 
> Oh! And as usual, I do in-character asks. Probably gonna be a staple to my blog, because it's fun. http://nihilismpastry.tumblr.com/ask


	9. Trails of Crumbling Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans has to help Gaster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gore Level: High
> 
> I mean, it's kinda bad here.

The crash and screaming was what woke them all up. Sans felt his magic burn in his bones, ready to snap and take care of the potential threat, as he hurried to the other bed and scooped up his brother. The smaller skeleton clung to his ribs, sockets blinking wearily as he tried to get his bearings. "What's going on?"

Sans didn't answer as he fled to the room next to his own. He didn't even have to knock before it was wrenched open, the human holding a phone to her ear, and her eyes wide as she stared at the ceiling. She muttered an affirmative to the person on the other line, before snapping the phone shut, and tucking it into her pocket. She wordlessly took Papyrus from him, and made her way to her room. The acidic smell of chemicals was beginning to leak into the bunker, overcoming the typical 'clean' chemical smell that permeated the place. He could even hear the metal rafters bending and cracking, only helping to make his magic ready to manifest in a tangible form.  "what's going on?"

"Explosion." She said, shutting the door behind the three of them. "It's nothing too serious, we just need to stay in my room until Gaster gives the all clear." She set Papyrus in her bed, and covered him with the blanket, before sitting on the floor beside the bed. "Don't worry, I'm sure everything'll get fixed soon."

That wasn't what he was worried about in the least. He had seen the blueprints for the bunker shortly after he started working for Gaster. The structure was pretty sound, it was the original lab that had been constructed after the fall of the lab in New Home two hundred years ago. Over the years it had been revamped and reconstructed, while the bunker itself was abandoned, but later bot by Gaster for his personal projects. A lot of the foundation was old, and had to be reinforced with magic to keep it even somewhat stable. The only real part of it that had been reconstructed in its entirety was her room. It was reinforced with steal, had concrete around that, and magic infused steel around that. There was even some of Gaster's own magic that was solidified and kept on the corporeal plane for extra measure. If the Core was blown to to the surface, it was likely that her room would be the only place to survive the blast, and remain Underground. 

But even if they all survived, and the bunker was in tact, if Gaster died, who would let them out? None of his apprentices had access down there without him, and he wouldn't have given them the password. Serpan was too ambitious, Mite had a tendency to forget anything important, Kit was too young, and Cel was...Well, Cel didn't do anything unless Gaster told her to do something. There was well over forty scientists working in the lab, and only four of them knew about him and his brother, and didn't have Gaster's blessing to interact with the human. The only other person who would likely care about her existence was probably King Asgore, he was the one who was able to interact with the human, and had a reason to care about her existence. Her soul could still be used to break the barrier, and if it was trapped down here, then it would be a waste. 

"Sans?" He blinked, and turned to look at the human. She was sitting on the bed now, a yellowed magazine in her lap, and the phone next to her. Papyrus was still asleep, though he now took up the entire left side of the bed, his limbs spread out, and the blanket off his body. "Gaster just called, he says he gave you temporary access to the door, so you could help him with something."

Sans stood up, shoving his hands into his pants pockets. He made sure the door to her room was properly closed, before trudging up the stairs and into Gaster's office. It was cleaner than it usually was, he must have taken his work somewhere else, or someone finally got him to clean it. He opened up the glass door and went into the main hall, just for the chemical smell hit him full on. The scientists were scurrying all over the place like ants on a sandwich, the more sensitive ones wearing masks and goggles, while others were spraying the air with water. The red light mounted to the wall was blinking, but the siren had long been cut off. He doubted it could be heard over the high pressure sprayers. and the loud talking everyone was engaged in, anyway. No one took notice of him as he began to wander around, looking for Gaster between crowding bodies and heavy machinery. As he passed by the **Determination**  extractor, a sharp pull on his sleeve caused him to stumble back a few steps. He glanced down and was met with a glare from violet eyes, his sleeve in the small monster's mouth. They spat out his sleeve and straightened their posture, a pink tongue licking their fangs. "Dr. Gaster's by the Core site. I was instructed to bring you to him immediately."

The small monster hurried off, almost tripping over her own two feet, and landing flat on her face. It probably wouldn't have been too much of a problem, if she at least had arms. She didn't complain though, and kept moving, leading him to the exit of the lab. Sans was surprised Kit was the one who would lead him there. She was smart for her age, and she was hardworking, but it wouldn't take much for Sans to be able to overpower her and run off if he really wanted to. Maybe even dust her, if he was feeling a bit courageous. But then Papyrus would be used in the experiments instead of him, and Gaster would have free reign to do whatever he wanted to his human.

And of course the old bastard knew that. 

The doors to the lab slid open, and the burning chemicals was replaced with heat. His magic adjusted to the change in temperature, cooling down his bones so they wouldn't begin cracking under the extreme heat. He stared out at the mass of stones, and lava pits spread before him, all of it looking like a barren wasteland after the end of the world. It was so monotonous and dreary looking, the only thing livening it up was the sign for the lab, along with a few people passing by. It was his first real view of the 'outside' world, and he felt...Well, he hoped his first view of the surface would make up for this. 

Another sharp pull on his sleeve ripped him from his thoughts, as he followed the young scientist to find their boss. 

* * *

The Core was a work in progress. It had been so since before he was even created, or before Gaster had found the human. However, it was only in the last twenty years that they had begun the actual building phase of the project. So far they had only started the foundation, which required power coming from generators to help with the heavy machinery, and a lot of magic. A small scale version of the power source was in the middle of the foundation, it was a simple cube that had steam erupting from all sides of it, while the hallow inner piece was spurting bright gray magic ghat tapered off to a muggy yellow, that had a similar smell as the stuff in the lab.  The core was powered by a combination of geothermal energy, and magic. So far, that magic was a specific kind of filtered magic that could be harvested in the lab, which was considered fake, and sacrilegious by older folks in the lab. Gaster was probably the only older monster who didn't mind its use, and even encouraged it, which was why it was being used in the core. That, and a million other reasons Sans hadn't had too much time to study.

He followed Kit down a metal ramp, taking his hands out of his pockets and hurrying his pace. The main issue with filtered magic, was the fact that all of the color qualities was taken out of it. Colored magic always had a certain effect, allowing something to happen. Filtered magic had all the effects drained out of it, creating a gray magic that was pure energy. While this was useful for being use in plenty of projects that would be otherwise sensitive to color magic, it was also highly dangerous, and usually resulted in something exploding, or even absorbing colored magic in an attempt to right itself. From the looks of things, it was obvious that was what had happened in this case, if the yellow was anything to go by. 

Gaster didn't look up from the panel he was messing with, while Kit ran over to a small welding kit, and began wiggling her head into the mask. Gaster handed Sans a long needle he knew all too well. "Inject it into your damaged eye socket, I believe I may have found something that is far more stable than the process we are using now."

"what do i get?"

"Excuse me?"

"what. do. i. get." He gestured to Kit, who had stopped struggling with her mask to stare at him, her violet eyes blown wide. "you pay your employees. give your apprentices tricks and tips. even play nice with the human. so what do i get for shoving a ten inch needle in my eye socket? ya know, outside of the horrific pain."

Gaster looked up from the panel for the first time, his face calm, his fingers hovering over the many knobs and levers inside the panel. This was probably he only chance to broker any kind of deal with Gaster. He would be smart enough to never allow the opportunity to come up again, or would dangle something over his skull to keep him from bringing it up. He'd be an idiot not to let this chance go to waste. Granted, he couldn't demand his release, to stop the experiments on his brother, or anything too drastic like that, but there was wiggle room, and he'd be damned if he didn't grab onto it.

"So, this is how you decide to rebel. I had purposely created you to skip such a pointless phase, but I see I was not perfect with the programming. I will have to be more prudent with P-1, I suppose." He summoned several hands, and forced two of them to hold his head in place, while another plucked the needle from his fingers. "In many ways, he is far more superior to you, or any of the other failures that I created. Perhaps it's due to the human's DNA mixed within his magical makeup, giving him just enough edge to be exactly what I need. If you weren't so far along in the process, I would dust you right now, and move on. It would be far more profitable to me, getting a start while he is still young and malleable."

Sans felt his magic burn at the words, crackling in his bones, making sweat slick down his skull. The urge to break him, grind his husk and bones to dust, and then parade it around for everyone to see was burning hard within him. He could practically taste his rage, something sharp with a hint of ash that was beginning to cloud his senses. He screamed as the needle plunged through his damaged, left eye, widening the already damaged hole within the magic, and completely destroying the scabbed over spot. The needle scraped against the back of his skull, and he could feel dust drift into his jaws, getting between the rows of teeth. And yet, deep inside, he still wanted to break the monster, even if he was exerting his dominance. 

_**Break** _

_**Kill** _

_**Dust** _

His bones cracked, and he could feel his magic leaking out of the fractures. The hands on his skull added more pressure, and part of his socket crumbled away, dust blinding his working socket. Everything burned, he felt like he was full of too much magic, he needed to release it before it consumed him whole. But there was nothing he could do, he was crumbling, crumbling, crumbling...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This got published early, maybe I might bust out another chapter later. 
> 
> Hmm...I bet everyone though Gaster would give in? Nope! Those dreams have been dashed! There's no good times in this fic, just bad. And yes, Kit, Cel, Serpan, and Mite are all of "Gaster's Followers". Cel, being the 'Dead Kid' sprite, specifically. I liked writing her, she's sassy and cute. 
> 
> Know what isn't cute? My tumblr! http://nihilismpastry.tumblr.com/
> 
> And as per usual, if you want to send in an ask to the characters in this story, then go ahead. http://nihilismpastry.tumblr.com/ask


	10. Trails of Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Papyrus bond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gore Level: None
> 
> Yay! A chapter without gore!

Gaster called you that evening, his words short and filled with irritation. He gave you simple instructions:" Don't leave the room until I return."

He hung up the phone shortly after, you could hear a child cursing and screaming in the background. Papyrus had looked up from his paper and crayons, his head tilted to the side as he watched you hang up the phone and set it back on the bed. "Was that Mr. Gaster?"

"Yeah, he just wants us to stay in my room."

"Is Sans okay?"

You paused, weighing the words in your mind. He hadn't said a word about Sans, or his whereabouts. For all you knew, he could have asked for Sans so he could kill him. It wasn't often he just came out and said he killed one of your children, you only knew when he needed to breed you, or you found him with dust all over his clothes. You took a deep breath and forced a smile on your face, pushing yourself off the bed to join him on the floor. "Sans is just fine, he was helping Mr. Gaster with some sciencey stuff. You know Sans is a total nerd."

"YEAH!" Papyrus pushed himself up to his knees, and pushed his paper into your face. You pressed two fingers to his wrist, and backed him up just a few centimeters so you could actually see his picture, instead of black and gray splotches. "SEE I DREW YOU, ME, AND SANS!" The picture was actually pretty good, if not a little rough. It looked a little like one of the beginning stages in those 'how to draw' books you used to have as a kid. What was the actual term? Line sketches? Line step? Your thoughts were dashed as he tapped at the mini you and Sans with a pencil. "YOU AND SANS ARE SMILING, well Sans always smiles, BUT IT'S BIGGER HERE. AND YOU'RE POINTING UP, AND TELLING US ABOUT THE SURFACE."

You pointed to the small rectangle thing on the very edge of the paper. It was colored in pretty dark, and looked almost like something he had started on, and then abandoned in favor of drawing the three of you. "And what's that."

"The door to this place." He said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Mr. Gaster let us out...He's still behind the door though, because I don't think I can draw a good Mr. Gaster."

You weren't sure if he meant his drawing abilities, or a Gaster that wasn't ready to tie him down, and inspect his skeleton for blemishes. You decided you didn't want the answer to that particular statement, and instead asked him if he wanted you to read to him. He cheered and carefully put away the pencils, and set the picture on your bedside table, before climbing onto the bed. He bounced up and down for a few moments while you plucked up one of your few books. You had a pretty...mismatched collection. A few decorating books, a fashion magazine from 2016 if you could even believe it, a book about monster history, and a dictionary. You plucked up a decorating book, and sat down on the bed, flipping the book open to the bookmark Papyrus had made for you. "Alright, now we were talking about colors and space, right?"

* * *

 Gaster dumped the body in the containment room, sweat beading down his face, and his magic running the lowest it had been since his days in the war. He stared at the beast, his teeth barred in a scowl, wiping his hands off on his lab coat even if he didn't touch him physically. The idiot had managed to tap into the void's magic, and he had shifted and become a beast. It had overloaded the generator's system completely, though the data collected was invaluable, he was still sour about the way it had come about. 

The boy had _challenged_ him.

In front of his most promising yet impressionable apprentice, on top of that. None of his other experiments had the audacity to commit such a crime. He had never counted S-7 in that equation, she had been damaged during the birthing process, and he had used damaged good to assemble her physical body. However, he had been careful when assembling S-15, and had been prudent, if not picky, about the memories he sank into his soul. There was not a shadow of a doubt that he should have been the most obedient of his creations. He glanced back to the beast, his bones had begun to rattle, and his sockets had opened, revealing a single blue and yellow pupil blazing in the right socket. The beast opened its massive jaws, and shifted on its legs, slowly getting into a standing position. Gaster sneered as he raised his right hand, a dark blue magic curling around his fingers. He jerked his hand backwards and a gray inverted heart slipped between the ribs of the beast, clouded with the dark blue magic. He threw his arm to the side, slamming the soul into the wall, the beast mimicked the movement, his bones smashing into the wall, a yelp escaping its maw. 

"You should survive." Gaster said, summoning the soul back to his open hand. It floated just over his open palm, he blue magic draining back into his body. "You're lucky that is all I will do to you, considering your earlier behavior." He watched as the beast turned its head towards him, clearly listening. "However, I'm feeling rather merciful. You've managed to create some exquisite new data for me to examine, and for that I will not start amputating your ribs." He sent the soul back to the creature, the small heart sipping back between his ribs, and getting the light in his socket to swirl and pulse again. "You're truly a piece of work, S-15. I wonder why you have the sudden gall to act in such a manner. Perhaps it's the same reason the human's **Determination** levels have spiked into such dangerous territory. The same reason the child has insisted on calling the human its 'mother'." He went over to the door and typed in the code. "She will never form a proper attachment to you, S-15. She's desperate for love and attention, and you're only a tool to give it to her. If you ever took a moment to be cruel to her, or shun her from your life, or even pull away all the affection you've given to her, and speak on different terms...Well," He glanced back to the staring creature. "you would see a very different person before you. One that would see you for the worthless beast that you are." The door swung open, and light from the hallway bled into the dark room. "No one will accept you for what you are, S-15. You will always be seen as a creature that has something to offer. A body to test, affection to give, a peculiar soul...But not yourself. Not what makes you. You." He gave a dull laugh and shook his head, leaving the room and letting the door slam shut behind him. "But you don't even understand me now, do you?"

* * *

You flinched when Gaster slammed open the door to your room. He had gone straight back to work after he come home the afternoon before, and had worked all through the next day. It was now late, you had put Papyrus to bed hours ago, and had started cleaning the kitchen. It was your least favorite chore, and you liked it when Papyrus would help you with it. The small skeleton loved cleaning, maybe it was the closest thing that could give Gaster a positive reaction towards the kid. That really wouldn't surprise you, he was pretty attention starved. You put the clean plates in the cabinet, and shut it, before going back to the sink and washing out the pots and pans. You grabbed the sponge, and scrubbed at the burnt pan. You had tried to make beef, well snail, stew for the first time. All of the snails had become watery much, and the pasta had burnt to the bottom of the pan. In the end, you had to eat ice cream for dinner with Papyrus, something he had been pretty excited about. You were gonna have to ask Gaster to pick up some instant meals for when disasters like this happened. 

"I'm twenty-two years old, I should be able to cook." You bent closer to the sink, scrubbing harder at a stubborn bit of black macaroni. "Even Sans cooks better than this."

 You paused when you heard the door to the Hotland lab open, bringing with it the potent smell of chemicals and ash. You shut your mouth about Sans, and continued to scrub at your pot. It sounded like Gaster was finally back from work. You took a quick glance to the clock hanging above the sink. It was only one in the morning, you'd thought he would spend more time working since the accident. You stiffened when you felt arms wrap around your waist, and pulled you into a cold body. Even though he worked in a place called 'Hotland' and it was surrounded by la-magma, he was always as cold as a corpse. You felt his fangs press against your neck, along one of the important veins jutting out of it. "Good evening, my dear."

 "Hey, Gaster." You felt his hands drift from your waist, up to your tits. Well, you knew where this was heading. "Did you fix everything?"

"Mostly." His tongue laved against your neck. "There's still a plethora of work to be done on all fronts, though it seems S-15 was finally useful for something."

You felt dread crawl through your stomach at his words. You hadn't gotten a chance to look at him yet, so you couldn't tell if he was covered in dust. You didn't feel it on his hands, but he might not have done it that way. From what you remember, Gaster had only done that once, and that was with Schrill. "Yeah?"

"Yes, I am rather shocked, even if the way that it came about was...unacceptable." He spun you around, and your eyes took in his appearance. Rumpled clothes, his husk had an almost black quality to it that even managed to hide the bags under his sockets, and there was a tear in his lab coat. Outside of that, everything seemed pretty normal, if not tame from what you were expecting after nearly two days of non-stop lab work. "I came down here to see him, but wanted to at least check on you first. I worry when I do not see you after such long stretches of time." His fingers trailed down your sides, there was just enough pressure to leave bruises, but nothing that would hurt too much if you poked it. He was doing exactly what he knew would get you riled up, and you hated it when you felt your stomach flutter at his touch. "I will return after the lunch period, I promise to spend time with you then." He pressed his fangs to your forehead. "Make sure to rest."

 A muddled reply escaped your throat, before he left you entirely, going off to see Sans. 

* * *

Gaster was unsurprised to find the beast returned to his skeleton form, and out like a light in the middle of the floor. What did surprise him, however, was when he sat up when he approached, looking fully functional. Gaster stopped a foot away from the experiment, his hands clasped behind his back, searching for any signs that his body had started forming dust clods. Everything looked fine though, there wasn't any scarring, and there wasn't any scorch marks. He looked healthier than the last time he transformed, almost as if his body had gotten used to it. S-15 pushed himself to a standing position, his bones rattling, and movements jerky, like a windup toy on its last rotation. "When did you return to this form?"

"last night." Gaster filed the information away. Apparently he could only take a solid day of transformation, if that. Perhaps the time would lengthen the more his body got used to it, just like his monster form was getting used to the recovery stage. "have i served my time, or do i get extra for hurting your pride?"

"Do you just hold no sense of self preservation in that body of yours, or are you simply stupid?" He shrugged, an answer Gaster had anticipated. He searched the skeleton's face for any signs of an abnormal amount of distrust or begrudging hatred, just to find the typical amount. He was probably right in his theory that S-15 couldn't understand proper speech while in his beast form.  "It doesn't matter at this moment. Your sudden transformation nearly melted down the generator, it gave it too much power. The geothermal and magical energy has always been a bridge between the magical and physical worlds, however I believe that the inclusion of the void's natural energy created a spike."

"you think the void is just a result of the physical and magical combining?"

"A very simple way to put it, but yes." He gestured to Sans. "You gain magic from the air around you, which is merely leaking from this world, while monsters gain the magic from their souls. Your body naturally combines the two, which allows you to pull energy necessary from the void in certain circumstances. I believe if we can create a stronger bridge between the geothermal energy, and the magical energy, we can create a firm gate way into the void, and power the entire Underground with far more efficiency than the simple generator we are currently using."

"and you're telling me this, why?"

"You have some of the same knowledge I do." Gaster stated. "If you participate in this, then the numbers will be calculated faster, and this project can be finished before the end of the decade." Gaster watched as S-15 looked over his shoulder, a habit he had done since creation. He always did this when thinking, as if trying to see something that wasn't the problem standing directly in front of him. There was no way he could bargain here, but at the same time Gaster couldn't just make the boy do as he wanted without threatening to experiment on P-1. Then, if he did that, he was almost certain S-15 would purposely compromise the data and equations, slowing down the process considerably. He had to be lenient, just enough to make him think he was getting something, but still keeping full control of the situation. "I suppose, now is a good a time as any to tell you about the University."

His gaze flicked back to Gaster. "what-"

"I need your mind sharp, and the sciences have changed since you were created. Humans have made leaps and bounds in their work, and we have made leaps and bounds in ours. I do not have the time to become incapacitated while I download memories into your soul. You will be sent to a university in New Home, where you will learn the newest advancements in science the Underground has to offer." He saw the corners of the skeleton's smile lift. "Do not look so amused, this is no bribe. I still fully plan to include you in my experiments." 

"gaster, ol' buddy," He stuck out a hand. "you got yourself a deal."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one day, I'm on a roll! Anyway! Yup, Gaster told it how it is. However, does Sans even remember that conversation, or does he understand it? Also, what will his new school life do for him? And how will Papyrus and Reader react to this? I'm starting to feel like the end of a kid's program...
> 
> Know what doesn't sound like the end of a kid's program? My tumblr! http://nihilismpastry.tumblr.com/


	11. Trails of Realignment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things begin shifting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gore Level: Low
> 
> It's more body horror, really.

Sans trudged to his room, his bones sore and magic dangerously low. One thing he hated about that containment room, was the fact that is was deprived of magic. It was as sterile as could be, and he couldn't feel the magic in the air when inside. More often than not he had to refuel his magic from food, instead of conventional means, which made his jaws hurt. He pressed a hand to his teeth, his jaws still stinging despite the fact that he had found some tea stored away in the cabinets. It hadn't done much to help with his healing, he would have to wait for his 'true' teeth to patch back over with new bone. It could take anywhere from a week to a month, and the process would hinder any of the other daily scrapes and cuts that needed healing. Knowing his luck, Gaster would get crazy and start hacking at his bones, which would make his life even worse. 

A sharp moan caused him to snap out of his thoughts. He paused outside of Gaster's bedroom door, the noise had dwindled to low mewling that sounded like it was in pain. He glanced around for a moment, checking to see if the scientist was ready to pop out of any hidden place, and went closer to the cracked door. He pressed his good socket to the door, and peered inside the dimly lit room, his magic adjusting to the low light. He could see the human on the bed, her back turned towards the door, not a hint of clothing on her body. Next to her was Gaster, he was shirtless and holding a handful of her hair in his hand, pulling her skull up. He knelt down and pressed his fangs to her lips, her back arching in an attempt to reach him better. After a few moments Gaster separated his mouth from hers, and pulled her onto his lap, her back now pressed against his front, and her body on full display. Sans felt his magic fizzle at the sight of her heaving chest, and sweat slicked body, her teeth biting down on her bottom lip, an action he had seen a million times, but he had never associated with being sexy. 

Sans knew it was wrong to see them like this. 

Gaster would dust him on the spot if he knew what he was seeing, and he wouldn't have been surprised if the human got embarrassed and upset by his spying. But as Gaster spread her legs, showing off her moist core, he felt his magic swirl in his mouth and it slowly opened, strings of newly healing bone becoming little more than past thanks to his disturbance. His tongue slipped out of the orifice, and raked across the 'true' teeth, saliva gathering and mixing with the paste like bone that had yet to harden, creating a mixture he was sure to regret later. Gaster's fingers dove into the forbidden place, a loud squelch filling the room, and quiet mewls escaping the human's mouth. He continued to spear into her, her moans becoming louder, and spilling out into the hall again. If he shut his socket, he could almost see himself doing this to her, making her climb higher and higvher, his name on her lips. His pelvis felt warm, and there was a light sting within the bones, as if magic he didn't have was trying to spill out. He muffled a groan, and gripped the wall, almost doubled over in pain. 

"N-Ah!" Her back arched and her fingers curled into his pants. "Gaster, please."

Those words broke him out of his daze, his magic running cold, and even his bones pausing in their painful excretions. He curled his phalanges, and straightened up, shutting his eye sockets. 

He took a full step back from the door, before going straight to the kitchen. He flicked on the sink, and scrubbed at the bone paste and saliva, his jaw throbbing, and anger coursing through his bones. Why did he stare for as long as he did? Was he really that much of a masochistic bastard? The human didn't see him like she did Gaster, she still saw him as a child, even though he didn't have a child form. He splashed more water on his face, his fingers spread over his open sockets. This little thing with Gaster was actually perfect. If he excelled, and proved to Gaster he was a competent and powerful monster, then the human would also have to accept it. That's why she allowed Gaster to do things to her, right? Because Gaster had proven himself to be a powerful monster, that could properly take care of her. He straightened up, and carefully shut his mouth, allowing another surge of bone paste to begin forming, closing his mouth properly, setting it in his typical smile. 

* * *

You stared at the ceiling, your pussy throbbing pleasantly, while cum gushed between your legs. Gaster had gone back to work when he got a call, leaving you alone to bask in the after sex 'glow'. You had actually enjoyed it this time, mostly because he had been careful to do things she liked, instead of focusing on just himself. It had been a sign he was in a good mood, and he hoped that mood continued after his stint in the lab today. You took in a deep breath, the smell of cigarette smoke and chemicals lingering, a sign of him. You pat around the bed for a moment, before your fingers grasped something cool and round. You curled your fingers around it, the thing making a light crinkling sound, and you brought it up to you. A quick flick of your wrist, and you got rid of the pink wrapped, before popping the monster candy in your mouth. A burst of kiwi and something unbearably sweet flooded your mouth, making you wrinkle your nose. Eh, it wasn't the worst one you had tasted, that would be the lemon-lime, it tasted too bland for your tastes. 

A knock on the door broke you out of your thoughts, but you were surprised to see the door open. Sans stood in the door way, his eye lights tiny specks in his skull, and sweat dotting his forehead. The two of you stared at each other for a moment, before you were scrambling up, pulling the blanket over your naked form. "Oh gosh! Just-Just give me a minute, please!" 

Sans backed away and shut the door, his stare not leaving you until the door blocked his view. You stared at the metal door, your face warm, and body hidden completely by the blanket. Oh gosh, your kid had seen you naked. Not just naked, but your thighs slick with cum, your nipples still erect. You shook your head, and scrambled out of the bed and into the bathroom, your movements far too shaky. Good grief, why was your luck just that bad? If it was Papyrus, you could make up a lie he could swallow, but Sans knew all about this stuff. That's what made it so...

You pushed the thoughts out of your head, and wiped the cum off your thighs, before hurrying to the bed. You plucked up your dress, pulled it over your head. Once you were sure you were at least half decent, you ripped open the door, Sans still standing there, waiting. "Um...Let's go to the kitchen, I'm starving."

He shrugged, and waited for you to shut the door, before following you to the kitchen. You opened up the freezer and took out some of your favorite ice cream, you really needed the comfort right now. You took a spoon from the drawer, before taking the small tub to the table, and opened it up. You stabbed the thick cream , and took out a decent chunk, before popping some in your mouth. The sweetness wasn't over bearing like monster candy, just the right amount that led back to fuzzy memories of your mother and a dark skinned man with a bushy mustache. 

"so uh," You snapped your attention to the skeleton. His smile was easy and laid back as always, but his shoulders were squared, and he was looking you in the eye. "the old man got me a pretty sweet deal."

"Really? Are we talking about the same old man?"

He snorted, but nodded. "wing dings gaster? yeah. he's letting me do a stint at the university at new home." His words began to pick up speed. "not a whole degree, just the stuff i wasn't programmed with. new stuff."

"That's so great, Sans!" You pushed the tub of ice cream towards him. "We've gotta celebrate. My baby's going to college!" You hopped up and made your way around the table, before gathering the skeleton in a hug. His fingers curled around your arm, and he pressed his skull into your chest. "I'm so happy for you Sans. I knew good things would happen eventually, you just have to be patient." 

"course a **patience** soul would say that."

You rolled your eyes, even if he couldn't see it, and pressed a kiss to his the top of his head. "Seriously, Sans. I know things always seem terrible, but sometimes nice things happen to, so long as you wait."

"that why you stick with the doc?"

His words were muttered, almost as if you weren't meant to hear them. You opened your mouth, but shut it when Papyrus came into the room, a math book in his hand. "momma, i need help." He paused, his sockets wide, small pupils forming in them when he caught sight of the two of you. He dropped the book with a clatter, and spread over, his bare feet clacking against the tile. "Sans!" 

His brother caught him before he crashed into his ribs, and he dragged him into his lap. "heh, hey paps."

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE BACK!" He craned his head up to look at you. "HE CAME BACK AGAIN!"

"That's right." You said, a smile curling on your lips. "You just have to be patient." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! So, that was a thing. We're firm in the 'he wants to bang his mom' territory. There was also a nice reprieve before this whole thing gets blown to hell again, after all, this is more like a horror story, not a happy story. And the whole thing with Sans' teeth...
> 
> So we know by the kick starter promo video that Sans might be able to close his mouth, but never does in the actual game. I head canon that Sans' teeth are true teeth, but they're able to open up to reveal even MORE freaking teeth which are false teeth. More like spikes in straight rows in his skull. It's uh...disturbing, to say the least. 
> 
> Know what isn't disturbing? My tumblr! http://nihilismpastry.tumblr.com/


	12. Trails of Schooling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You leave the lab and bunker for once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gore Level: Low
> 
> Ehhh....I was kinda confused on what the level should be, really.

Gaster called Sans up to the lab far more often than he used to, leaving you and Papyrus alone a good portion of the time. When Sans was back around, he would often chatter on and on about the new things he was learning, and how they could help the other monsters eventually. After two weeks, he learned that the paperwork with the University had been approved, and that he would be attending classes as soon as the new quarter started next month. Sans seemed happy with this, despite Gaster's callous treatment towards him, or the in crease of experiments performed on him. More than once you saw his left eye patched over with gauze, and knicks in his skull that took a far longer to heal than usual, and his mouth dripping a white paste that would harden wherever it was smudged. When you brought up the manner, he would just shrug it off, and tell you about the lab, that excitement still there despite his many injuries. His lust for science, which was so similar to Gaster, was allowed to bloom in its own way. While Gaster preferred things based more on the magical side, Sans preferred things that were more 'bound in the laws of math'. Physics, chemistry, anything that involved crunching long chains of numbers that you couldn't bring yourself to understand. He tried to convince you it was all easy once you got the rules down, but you weren't so sure of it, and let him continue his chatter regardless. 

While Sans was happy with his new job, Papyrus was more down trodden. He was used to having his brother around a good chunk of the time, having him gone most of the day and night, all during the week, was rare. More than once you caught the younger skeleton sleeping in his brother's bed, or trying to convince Sans to stay home and help him with his schoolwork. You didn't understand where the sudden clinginess came from, and when you asked about it, Papyrus would become defiant, and go off to do things by himself. You were at a loss at what to do, and decided to let him be for now, hoping that he would eventually come to you if he really needed the comfort or advice. Not that you were great at doling it out, but that was what a parent was supposed to do, right?

Unlike your sons, Gaster seemed indifferent to the whole affair. He came home whenever Sans did, and would check your soul once a week as he usually did. Occasionally he would fuck you, or just lay down with you, his nasal cavity scrapping against your neck and drawing blood. He would look at Papyrus' progress, and always looked disappointed, as if expecting more out of the boy. He came home smelling like alcohol more often, but he was never outright drunk, which made your life far easier. He never commented about any of the work that he and Sans did, though there were times you would be close to orgasm, and he would abruptly get called into work. At those moments he would scramble up and to the lab, his clothes tangled in each other, and barely giving you time to cover yourself before calling Sans into the room. 

As for you?

Well, you didn't like that in exchange for his happiness, Sans had to get hurt for it. You were also worried for Papyrus, with both his grades and his over all attitude recently. Gaster was treating you surprisingly well, for which you were grateful for, of course. There was really nothing to complain about, you supposed. In a way you could say that life was looking up, even if it didn't really seem like it. You were sure that things would smooth out once the project with the core got a major breakthrough, and you really couldn't wait for that time to come. 

You sighed and sank into the bathtub, your eyes staring at the ceiling. The cracks and flecks in the stones were all unique, various shades of reds and grays, that swirled together sometimes to make spectacular splashes of orange. It was like looking at a sunset, without the sun, or the sky. Staring at it was as relaxing as staring at a real sunset, and it had the added luxury of being in the stone bathtub. You didn't take baths often, but you desperately needed to clear your head, Sans was supposed to be going to the university, and Gaster wanted you to tag along. You said yes, mostly because you didn't have a choice in the manner, and also you wanted to do something that was close to a 'family' activity. You mother hadn't seen you off to college, and if you remembered correctly, she was always busy working. She hadn't seen you off to any of your first days of school, or your graduations. Your grandmother had seen...

You pursed your lips as you thought it over. 

She had seen your...Middle school graduation? Yes, that sounded about right. It was either that or third grade, you weren't sure. Your memory of certain things involving your family was becoming foggier the longer you were down here. Hell, the first little while you were Underground, yet away from Gaster, was also becoming a blur. You'd have to bring that up with him, maybe it was a side effect of one of his experiments, or you were just getting old. Your nose wrinkled at the thought, and you shook you head. You weren't that old, twenty-two was actually pretty young, when you thought of the average human life span. Not nearly as old as a monster's, especially a Boss Monsters, but it was still pretty long regardless. 

You sighed and pulled your self out of the water, your hair sticking to you, and water dripping back into the tub. You bent down and pulled the plug, before carefully getting out the tub. You grabbed the fluffy, purple towel off the rack, and wrapped it around you before going to the mirror anchored to the wall, and wiping it clean. You didn't look old, there were no wrinkles, or gray hairs on your head. You poked a a cheek, watching the skin create a small dent under the light pressure. Your skin was still supple and soft, in fact, if you squinted and tilted your head, you may have even been able to convince yourself you looked a bit young for your age. You dropped your hand from your face, and clutched your towel again. Stressing about your age was only going to help you age, which wasn't something you were very eager to do, if you were already loosing memories left and right, you couldn't even imaging how bad it would be once you were eighty.

You went back into the bedroom, just to find Gaster sitting on the bed. His shirt was open, and his tie was strewn on his lap, there was a clean pair of dress shoes next to him on the floor. Gaster always wore clean, yet nicely tailored clothes to work, but these were fancier than usual. They were the stuff you imagined CEOs wore to international board meetings, or what most people would wear to a wedding. You never knew exactly how much money Gaster made, he never discussed money with you at all, but you were convinced he was better than 'well off'. You went to the closet and took out a nice skirt and blouse, and laid them out on the bed next to him. He glanced up, and seemed to notice you for the first time. You gestured to the clothes. "Will these work? You wearing something pretty nice, I feel like I'll be under dressed."

"You'll look lovely, dearest." He reached out and tugged on your towel, and you let it drop to the floor. "Sans was adamant in you coming. I would have put it off entirely, but an old co-worker wanted to meet you, so I relented." You went to the dresser, and picked out a simple yet comfortable set of underwear and slid them on.  Huh, normally when old co-workers wanted to see you, they had to come to the lab. What made this one so special? "We will be seeing him after we take Sans to the Dean's office, and get him signed up for the classes he will require for the project."

"Will there be any..."

"Experiments? No." Gaster began buttoning up his shirt, hiding the rest of his cracked husk. "I may owe this man a debt, but it is not something I am willing to put your life on the line for. Only I and those I trust will work with you, my dear." He stood up and went over to you, and plucked up your hands, bringing them up to his tie. "Now let us finish getting ready, yes?"

* * *

 You had gone to 'New Home' before. It was a sprawling city made of gray stone, with square shaped buildings squashed so close together, some of them even touched each other. They were stacked as high as they possibly could, with signs for various business, on different levels. Each and every building had a metal staircase, that went to the many levels that the buildings possessed. But even though most everything was built with various shades of gray, the monsters had done their best to make it colorful. There were wires hung from one building, then stretched across to another, with clothes pinned to it, while other buildings had paper flowers twisted around the metal banisters of the stairwells. Then there were people selling from carts that had hand made signs, and painted wheels selling anything from food, to books, and even fortunes that were divined from ash and candles. The monsters themselves were bright and colorful, and helped create a splash of color where there was none, some were standing around corners, while others spoke to each other on the stairwells. It was a place just buzzing with life, and you felt almost tiny among all the hub bub of the city, you kept close to Gaster, and kept an eye on Sans. 

Sans seemed to take it all in with wide sockets, his eye lights almost filling in the black holes, his blase demeanor forgotten as he followed the two of you to the University. More than once he stopped to look into some shop window, or take a sample from a food vendor, and had to be called back by Gaster. He would reluctantly come back to your side, though he still kept a slower pace than the two of you. 

"Pretty exciting, huh?"

"heh, yeah." 

"It is only exciting until you get used to it." Gaster stated. "This is the busiest place in the Underground, a meager seventy five miles, and well over ten thousand recorded monsters, with more being born or immigrating here everyday. It is unhealthy and overcrowded, a place that can breed danger if precautions are not taken." The three of you passed a monster clothed in metal armor, horns sprouting from the sides of the helmet. They nodded to the three of you, and Gaster ignored them as he continued. "This place is both heavily guarded by the Royal Guard, and by the many gangs that have taken up residence in New Home. Misstep just enough, and either one will be more than happy to dust you. The Underground has gotten to the point that it will either eat itself, or we will all loose hope. Either way, this city is the perfect example of that fact." Gaster led you all up some stone steps, that opened up to a metal gate that had two more guards at the front. Behind the gate was a gigantic courtyard brimming with monsters, and several large buildings scattered around it. All of them had clocks on their fronts, and had scrolled trimming along their sides in a dark cream stone. "That is why I am allowing you to go this University, that way the project can continue, and we can be rid of just a fraction of our troubles." 

The guards moved aside when Gaster showed them a card from his wallet, and led you both on the campus. It reminded you of any other campus that you had seen, except there wasn't a lawn, and the place was filled with monsters instead of humans. Gaster went straight to the largest building that had well over sixty windows, and a large clock that was edged with metal flowers, and had a shiny copper face. Sans opened up the wooden door, and you all passed into a long hallway that was also made of wood, and rather empty of people. Gaster took the hallway to the left, and passed by several rooms that had signs anchored to them, most of them with long, fancy sounding names. The hallway broke away into an open area that had several over stuffed chairs along the wall, and a single book case filled with books, and a magazine rack next to it that had a few newspapers and such. To the right was a desk that had an alligator looking woman with dark blonde hair pinned into a bun, and glasses. She looked up from her computer, and squinted her eyes. "Do you have an appointment?"

"Yes, Dr. Wing Dings Gaster."

The woman clicked on something on her computer, and nodded her head. "Yes, Mr. Bobbin will see you now."

Gaster glanced back to the two of you. "Stay here, I will only be a moment. S-15, when I come back, I expect you to be ready for your tour of this place. I'm almost certain you have a memory of it from myself, but it is standard procedure."

With that he went into the room, you got a glimpse of pink and gray, before the door shut. You felt the tension in your shoulders melt a bit, and you went over to a chair next to the book case, sitting heavily in it. Sans took a place next to you, somehow managing to avoid getting his slacks rumbled in the process. The two of you were silent for a moment, the only sound was the clacking of the computer keys, and the high pitched ring from the telephone. Sans was the one who broke the silence first, his voice low as he stared at the wooden ceiling. "can ya even believe this is happening?"

"Gaster doesn't make empty promises."

Sans nodded at that. "i knew i could go, but..." He gestured to the hallway they had entered from. "it's like knowing a bone saw can sever your phalanges. you know it can happen, but it doesn't feel real until ya see it."

Your eyebrows furrowed at the grotesque metaphor he chose to use. You didn't know what a phalange was, but you were almost sure it was something Sans did have, and that his metaphor was something that was more of an experience. You shook the thought out of your head, and reached across the small gap between them, putting your hand on top of his own. "I'm happy that you're happy, Sans. It's not often you show this side of yourself, so I'm glad you insisted for me to come along, that way I could see it."

His eye lights shifted so he was looking at you. "wasn't even the reason i asked ya to come." He admitted. "just wanted you to get out for a bit. woulda asked for papyrus to come to but..." He shrugged. "only reason he said yes to you was some guy called him up and begged to see 'the human and the notes'." 

"Maybe we can bring him along another time."

"heh, maybe."

Silence eased over the two of you again, but you kept your hand on top of Sans'. He didn't seem to mind, though, so you were content to dole out the small display of affection. After a few minutes the door to the office swung open, and you brought your hand back to your own lap. Sans glanced to you again, but didn't comment as Gaster entered the room. Following behind him was a black slime creature, with a pink and gray bow tie pinned under its single, giant eye. Gaster shook the slime's hand, before it returned to its office. You stood up and went over to Gaster as he headed towards the hallway, you could hear cloth shift behind you, and you guessed Sans was finally moving as well. "Just two classes, though I'm sure that will be enough time eaten away at the day. I would have thought with the sudden surge in technology that humans have created, there would be more classes."

"you given me the tour?"

"No." Gaster stopped outside the door that led outside the building. "You will wait here for a Ms. Alphys. She's actually a new intern at the lab, and is taking classes here. She will show you where your classes are."

"so she's a snitch." He gave a mirthless chuckle. " 'course."

Gaster ignored him as he held out his arms to you, which you carefully took. You muttered a quick goodbye to Sans as Gaster opened up the door, leading you back outside, you glanced behind you for a moment, and saw Sans, his eye lights gone and sockets narrowed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, Sans got sent to his school. He'll still be around, it's only two classes. Gaster is gona let someone meet is human, but he doesn't trust said person. Wonder what the result will be...It also seems Papyrus is feeling neglected, poor baby. Don't worry, Gaster'll give you attention! 
> 
> Know what won't get attention? My tumblr! http://nihilismpastry.tumblr.com/


	13. Trails of Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone meets someone. Though the someone is only as dangerous as they're allowed to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gore Level: None 
> 
> Jesus Christ this chapter.

You stayed close to Gaster as you weaved through the city. The alleyways were like a maze, and there weren't a lot of markers that stood out from each other. You went down a steep set of stairs, that led into an open square that looked like a market place of sorts. There were stalls with colorful covers on them, and monsters calling out their prices. Some people also sat on mats, and had their wares sitting in front of them, close enough that they couldn't be stepped on, but far enough that everyone could clearly see what was being sold. Gaster began to slow down as he neared a small stall that held a variety of appliances that looked like they wee hauled straight from the garbage dump. A mixer was missing one of the whisks, a toaster that was rusted all the way through, and other odds and ends you couldn't even name. Behind the wooden stall, was a rabbit monster that was missing half its left ear, and had pale green fur. They were speaking with a cat monster who was purchasing a pair of headphones and a small rectangular device that had colorful buttons along the side. 

The ghoul stopped just within range of the stall. "When we approach this particular monster, I want you to stay close to me, and do not accept anything from him."

"Yes, Sir."

He seemed pleased by your quick compliance, and approached the stall as the cat monster walked away. The rabbit monster perked up when he spotted Gaster, his posture straightening and a grin spreading across his wide face. "Ah, don't see ya in this neck of the woods, eh, Dings? Got all the nice pickings over in the labs, didn't think you'd need to come all the way out to this cesspool for anythin'."

"No, but I am a man of my word." He pushed you forward. "Sal, this is my mate."

Red eyes narrowed, and he leaned forward, almost tipping over a calculator from the counter. "This ain't Poppy." He said slowly, his gaze never leaving you. "I met her once, and this ain't her."

"I've acquired a new mate." He said. "This is a human, H-3 to be precise."

The rabbit's eyes widened, his mouth opening wide enough to park a minivan. He gripped the edge of the countertop, and without warning, jumped over it in one try. He slapped a crumbled piece of paper on the counter top, and gestured down the crowded street. "Not safe to do this out in the open. I've gotta safe place out in the lower levels." He reached out to grab your arm, and you flinched back, bumping into Gaster's hard chest. "I could check her and-"

"No, you will not." He pulled you into him completely, his arms wrapping around your shoulders, his grip strong and safe. "You said you wanted to see a human, and I've done that. I apologize that it has taken so long, old friend, but I'm afraid things at the lab have been rather chaotic."

"Been a hundred years." The rabbit spat. "But I guess there's more to it, eh?" He gave a raspy laugh and shook his head. "So, what do I gotta do to see the little human? Give away my soul? Sell my eldest daughter? Kill the king?"

"Your jokes are as distasteful as I remember, old friend. But no, none of those things are necessary." He shifted one of his arms, and reached into his coat pocket, pulling a sheet of paper out, and handing it over to the rabbit. "I have a son enrolled in the University, a skeleton monster that will likely go by the name 'Sans'. I would like you and your own to look after him."

Your eyebrows furrowed, and you leaned back to look at the ghoul. No, he was completely serious. Did he think Sans would run away from home or something? He was a good boy, and wouldn't even entertain the thought of leaving without his brother. But then wasn't it natural for someone who was hurting someone else to be paranoid? To think they would leave given the first opportunity? Was that why Gaster was allowing you to hang onto him like this, keeping you so close? He was worried you would run away from him as well?

You flinched when you felt a furry face on your cheek, the thick smell of alcohol filling your nose. "Let's get her to the safe place, yeah?"

* * *

 Sans stared at the yellow lizard creature, his magic coiled and ready to launch at any moment.  She didn't look like much of a threat, she was shorter than himself by an inch or so, and would stutter every so often. There was even a thick blush on her face, and she wouldn't look at him whenever she spoke. She was a shy mess, someone who didn't look like they even had the guts to work herself, nevertheless fifty other people. And yet this was the person he was supposed to stick to for the next three months? Gaster probably made sure to pick someone as nonthreatening as possible. The old man was smart, and had a penchant for thinking he was stupid, so why not hire his least obvious operative. Not only was she shy, but he'd never met her, this might not even be her real personality. 

A growl rumbled through his rib cage, making the lizard monster squeak and back away from him. "W-well, I think I might, uh, go to the library and study. I-If you need anything else, then you can call me?"

"don't have a cellphone."

"O-oh..."

She was quiet for a moment, before she took a pen and a small notepad out of her sweater pocket. She jotted something down, and ripped the page out, handing it to him. "T-this is my schedule. We can meet up at the library at these times, and if you have any questions, you can a-ask them then?" A dark red bloomed over her scales. "N-not that we have to do that! We can do anything else, i-if you want?"

Sans stared at her for a moment, the lizard turning a darker shade of red under his stare, before he took the paper and shoved it into his slack's pocket. "yeah, it works."

"O-okay," She made to turn around, her tail flicking out. "i-if you don't need anything..."

Sans turned on his heel and stalked back to the administration building. He could already hear the human complaining about his manners, but he wasn't going to show any signs of weakness. Anything and everything he did would go back to Gaster, and jumping to make friends with the first monster he met outside the lab would certainly go back to him. He had to stay strong and self aware, if he let himself think it was some kin of vacation, it was gonna get him killed. If not himself, then his brother, and possibly the human. 

He opened up the door, cool air sweeping along his bones, and fluttering his clothes. He wasn't going to do that to either of them. He was here to prove something to Gaster and the human. And maybe he wouldn't be able to enjoy this experiment, but that wasn't anything new, not really. He sunk into one of the chairs in the receptionist's area, and shut his sockets, the magic easing in his bones to a gentle hum. He wasn't going to let Gaster have the upper hand in any of this, not if he had an actual choice as to how this would end. 

All he had to do was wait. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, it's short, only because the next chapter will resemble...Nothing, ignore me. So, Gaster is actually the human's mate, isn't that nice. And she's not the first human to fall since Chara fell, and is the third by Gaster's notes. But who was his past mate? And why did he say he'd let him see a human? So mysterious~.
> 
> Know what's not mysterious? My tumblr! http://nihilismpastry.tumblr.com/


	14. Trails of a Fresh Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You meet Gaster's old friend, and Sans is...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gore Level: None
> 
> I love it when the gore level is non-existent, but the chapter is still fucked up. XD

You and Gaster followed the rabbitt monster through the twisting alleys of the city. While all the houses and business were already cramped, and pushed as close together as possible, that meant the alleys were dark and narrow. Very little light came through, and you found yourself clinging to Gaster as he guided you through the trash and stones that littered the path. 

"Almost there, almost there." The monster said. "Had to change the residence after that new brat headed the Royal Guard. Had the city Guard poke too close to the nest." They turned a sharp corner, and came upon a literal hole in a brick wall, it was dark and gaping, and smelled like chemicals and chalk. In that respect, it reminded you of Gaster's clothes after a day at the castle. The rabbit monster beckoned you both in, his voice echoing and bouncing off the walls of the cavern. "Just gotta get the lights in order. Ain't had time to put in a proper generator."

Your fingers curled into Gaster's sleeve as he led you into the cave. With a few candles flickering, you could see it wasn't as bad as you thought it would be. There was a small mat in the corner, with a pillow on top of it, a desk littered with all sorts of papers and test tubes, and bulky plastic bags strewn all over the room that were kept closed with duct tape. The rabbit monster pointed to a chair with only three legs, the rest of it propped up with some molded looking books. Gaster pressed down on your shoulders, and you sat down, your stomach fluttering as he turned away to look over some of the papers on the desk. The rabbit monster was muttering to himself, a thick pair of glasses perched on his nose now, and a book in his hand. You couldn't read the title, but you recognized the writing, you just couldn't put your finger as to where you'd seen it before. It looked a far cry different to the writing you'd seen Gaster use, and didn't look anything like English. "Her soul, does it really have a trait?"

"Inferior to that of the royal child's." Gaster said. "If you may recall, the royal child's soul held a stubbornness to it that allowed them to fight against most obstacles in their way, regardless of the consequence, that is not the case with my human." He shuffled through some of the papers, and plucked up one that had pale blue markings all over it. "The royal child had very low **Patience** , which caused them to rush through tasks that they found boring, or just toss them to the side once they lost interest completely. My human is not like that at all, since her soul has a core of **Patience**. I find that she is able to withstand more abuse and turbulent emotions in her soul thanks to this quality, just so long as she has a high quantity of **HoPe**. However, if she lacks that, then she no longer will want to continue, and it can be lethal to her health."

The scritching sound of pen against paper filled the room for a moment, while Gaster paused, his sockets narrowed as he read the paper in his hand. You shuffled in your seat, the chair wobbling in warning, and your gaze darted the rabbit monster. His grin was wide on his face, and his ears twitched this way and that, as if listening to something that wasn't even being said. 

"And could she conceive?"

"What methods are you referring to?"

The monster's eyes grew wide, and his head jerked up from his notebook. "You've tried the human way?" His gaze dragged over to you, eyes fixed on your belly. "And what did you get? A pile of dust? Some freakish hybrid?"

"That is what I expect you to be guarding." Gaster said. "If word got out that there is a human and monster hybrid gallivanting about the Underground, unchecked and unnoticed by the king," He waved a hand dismissively. "It doesn't take much to guess what will happen."

You shuddered at the manic look that curled over the monster's features, and the low chuckles that shook his scrawny frame. "Dings my old friend, ya got yourself a deal."

* * *

Sans was ready to nap the minute Gaster dropped both him and the human off at the prison-lab, and then went back upstairs to go check some 'important findings'. He always felt a bit tired when he was out in magic heavy air, instead of this stale environment, but it was more so than usual. The campus had been huge, and he'd been on his guard the entire time, ready to lash out at a moment's notice. Most of the monsters had regarded his strangely, and more than once he almost skewered Alphys when she came too close, or slipped a hand into her pocket. By the time Gaster finally showed up, he thought he would crumble to dust, his nerves standing on end, and his magic surging through every particle of his soul, ready to expand and take form. 

At least the human looked fine. Outside of her own haggard appearance, she seemed fine, her soul wasn't even faded as it typically was after an extended period of time dealing with Gaster. She was sitting at the table with Papyrus, a bowl of fried snails and crackers between them, and a pitcher of tea next to those. It was an early dinner, meant more to cheer Papyrus up for being left behind, than an actual need to eat. Sans watched them from the doorway, his soul humming as he watched the two of them chatter, and pick at the meal. Watching Papyrus' bones rattle, and his grin lift up at the edges as the human told him about the city, and all the different things that you could do and see there. He wanted to capture this feeling before it vanished when the old man came back, and fucked them all over once again.

"Alright, go take a bath, Papyrus."

The small skeleton whined, but was silenced when the promise of ice cream was brought up. He shot out of his chair, almost slipping and falling on his face in the process, and hurried out the door, a high pitched greeting thrown in Sans' direction as he hurried by. The human noticed him now, and waved him over, her smile still on her face, though the weariness of the day began to show again. Sans pulled up a chair and twisted it around, before sitting in it, leaning his chin against the back of the chair. "he liked it."

She snorted. "I swear he could have made a mixed tape with all the noise his bones were making." She sighed and leaned back in her chair, her eyes fluttered shut. "I want him to see the city one day, and get to explore it. I think it'd make him realize that the world isn't all just darkness and...Whatever Gaster's goal is."

That would mean that Papyrus' world view would get bigger, which was a very dangerous thing to do. Whether she realized it or not, Papyrus was very powerful in his own way, and that made him dangerous. There was no way in hell that Gaster would be stupid enough to let Papyrus out into the world, and have a go at realizing that the world didn't suck outside of the scientist's iron grip. Sans on the other hand, his bed was already made, rebellion was next to impossible. He had to look after Papyrus and the human, because he was the closest thing to keeping Gaster in line, or at least keeping him from going overboard on the other two. So long as he kept Gaster enthralled by his miracle 'advancements', then his attention wouldn't be riveted to the other two as much. And if he happened to advance enough, become stronger, and do whatever the hell Gaster was attempting to do... 

His gaze shifted from the human's face to her chest, the room going dark as his vision shifted to accommodate his sight. Her soul was pulsing, the light trickling through her body and fueling her with emotions and energy. It was a gentle pull and push system, and it was hypnotizing to watch. His own soul swirled with affection as he watched her's work, and he wondered if it was normal to find such a simple task so inviting. 

"Sans, are you okay?" She snapped him out of his thoughts, and his vision returned to normal, his gaze dragging up to her face. Her eyebrows were furrowed, but she didn't seem otherwise put out. "Your ribs are moving."

He smacked a hand over his ribs, a low vibrating coming from them, something akin to a scraping sound coming from them. Another swift smack and they stopped, though they left an almost bruised feeling along the lower ones. "yeah, probably hungry."

She rolled her eyes and pushed herself up, and went to the cabinet, rifling through the cabinets for something for him to snack on. His body hadn't done that before, he usually had a better grip on that sort of thing. It was far more common for it to happen in the middle of the night, when he was laying in bed, and his thoughts would turn to the human. They would hum and vibrate as his thoughts turned to things that would make him feel all too good, before feeling dirty and ashamed, just knowing how disgusted she would be if she had a hint of what he was doing, what he was thinking, what he wanted, _what he needed_.

Because, even if Gaster had managed to breed her countless times, he didn't make her happy. A mate had to be happy in both body and soul in order to be properly taken care of. Gaster could do that with her body, he'd heard her scream in ecstasy more times than he liked to count, but he didn't make her soul happy. He wasn't able to make it glow and pulse like he could, or make her smile over a joke, or make her feel safe after a particularly hard examination. Sans was clearly better at taking care of her emotional needs, now he just needed to prove he could protect her, and provide for her physical and sexual needs. 

His bones felt heavy, and his grip tightened on the chair as he watched the human, _his_ human, pour some ketchup over some fries she had put in a busted up microwave. She turned back around, and set them in front of him with a smile. She plucked up one, and held it up. "To fresh starts."

He did the same, the warmth seeping into his bones, and helping to fuel the already festering fire burning in his soul. "to fresh starts."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, it's been forever since I updated this. Anyway, so what's up with Sans, why's he acting strange all of a sudden? And how do you think Sal will 'guard' Sans while he's at the university? Also, I hate writing exposition. 
> 
> Know what likes writing exposition? My tumblr! http://nihilismpastry.tumblr.com/


	15. Trails of A Corrupted Understanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There can be results in nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gore Level: None
> 
> Ya'll are gonna hate me for this chapter.

You moaned and stretched, your limbs popping from the effort. It was Sans' first day of school, and you had dragged yourself out of bed early to make him some breakfast. It wasn't much, just some eggs and water sausages, but you didn't really know Sans' preference for foods. He would eat anything and everything he could put inside his body, and would thank you for it all the same. You tried asking him his favorite foods once, but his response was 'anything you cooked'. You sighed and flipped the sausages over, smothering them in the mushroom gravy you were cooking them in. You didn't know why you were complaining about something so simple, having a picky child was probably worse than a kid that would eat all the food on their plate plus some. You reached over the stove, and plucked up an oven mitt, and slipped it on, before picking up the pan. You carefully brought it to the table, making Papyrus bounce up and down in his seat. "They're done!"

"Yup." She slipped off the oven mitt, and tossed it back onto the counter. "Where's Sans?"

The younger skeleton shrugged as he stood in his seat, and dragged the pan closer to him. He stabbed a fork into one of the sausages, and plopped it onto his plate. "Mr. Gaster got him this morning. Sans said he'd be right back."

Probably lecturing him or something, that wouldn't be too surprising. Gaster was a very important monster, and everyone seemed to respect him. He likely didn't want Sans embarrassing him, or to try and run away at the first opportunity. You slid some food onto a plate, and slid it into the spot Sans usually sat at, biting at your lower lip as you mulled the thought over. You hadn't really thought about it much, but this was the perfect opportunity for Sans to run away. You knew that the Capital was very big, and that there were places far more remote, so far that it would take a few days for Gaster to catch up and drag Sans home. The place was cold and there was snow everywhere, when you had first seen it, you had wondered why it was snowing Underground. It would be the perfect place for Sans to hide, if he really wanted to. 

But then...

Your gaze drifted to the small skeleton. He had gravy smeared on his face, and the mushrooms were all shoved to the side of the plate, away from the rest of his food. You doubted Sans would ever try to leave Papyrus behind. He cared so much for his brother, and would likely waste this perfect opportunity if it meant that he could continue to try and protect his brother. And while you loved that about your son, you knew it was going to be his downfall one day. It was terrible to think, and you knew that you should be repulsed by it, but you'd seen it time and time again whenever Papyrus had did something wrong, Sans had jumped to his rescue, even taking the blame himself. You wondered if Gaster was aware about the lying sometimes, or if he just went along with it as an excuse to scrape and work at Sans some more. 

You jolted out of your thoughts as Gaster entered the room, Sans walking along behind him. He looked alright, hands shoved in his pockets, and his smile on his face. "Good morning."

Gaster dipped down and pressed a kiss to your temple. "I'll be leaving for the lab. I have already given S-15 his instructions regarding school, and I expect you not to be a distraction." 

Well, you never really saw yourself as a distraction, but you decided not to voice that opinion. Instead you kissed him, straightening his tie in the process, before letting go of him. You turned back to Sans, but found that he was already at the table, the fork bending between his fingers. You opened your mouth, but got no where as Gaster bent down, pressing you firmly against his chest, and kissing you again. He was never one for public displays of affection, but then again he didn't view his own sons as 'alive'. Maybe he just didn't care if they saw, you doubted they understood what it meant anyway. 

When he pulled away again, he left the kitchen, and it remained quiet until you all heard the door to the upstairs slam shut. As soon as it did, Sans slammed his fork down and pushed himself up, the chair toppling to the floor. "Sans?"

He ignored you, and grabbed the paper bag from the counter top that had his name scribbled on it in black sharpie. He bopped Papyrus' head as he passed him by, and made his way out the kitchen. There was a moment of silence, before you heard the door swinging open, and then slamming shut. Papyrus stared after his brother, before turning back to you, his mouth open as if poised to as a question. However, he shut his mouth, and hopped off his chair, leaving his plate still full of food. 

You were all alone again. 

* * *

Sans couldn't concentrate in his classes. He knew he wrote down notes, he could see them in his binder, but they looked pretty useless and messy. He couldn't make heads or tails out of them, and ended up throwing it out in the trashcan on his way to the cafeteria. The food was tasteless, and too full of magic, all his body did was absorb it, but he still felt hungry. His bones were burning, and his attention was shot to shit. His distal phalanges dug into his skull while he stared at a piece of paper, it had a diagram sketched out on it, explaining something about soul and physical magic theory. The red and blue lines blurred under his eye sockets, and he had to keep blinking in order to just see the proper picture. 

"fuck." 

He sighed and shut his sockets, letting his skull lean against his hand. This was all Gaster's fault, why in the hell was he antagonizing him like this. Touching her soft skin, pressing his fangs against her lips. He'd read once that pressing your lips to your mates was a sign of gentle of affection, one that was used to soothe and build trust. It was also a way to show others that the mate belonged to them, and deter potential rivals. He was so careful about this feeling, keeping Gaster from finding out about how he felt about the human. But with Papyrus getting older now, and almost hitting hitting breeding age soon. Hell, his own heat was going to start manifesting within a few months. Gaster probably felt threatened, seeing that two potential males could take away his human. Sans didn't want to share the human necessarily, but it would put more pressure on Gaster if Papyrus had an interest in the human. And if he knew anything about her, he knew that she held a deep love for Papyrus. If his brother wanted the human as his mate, and vice versa, then he wouldn't mind sharing the human with him. If both he and his brother could prove themselves as worthy mates, then the human would have no choice but to leave Gaster. 

Of course they had awhile before Papyrus would be at breeding age. For now, he needed to refine how he interacted with the human. His outburst that morning was negative, and probably left her feeling upset. He knew the human liked it when he ate her food, which to be fair it was pretty good, and didn't like it when he ignored her like that. He would need to make that up to her, and reassure her that he did appreciate her ability to try and take care of him. Restore that loss of faith and trust, and make her feel comfortable and safe around him again, and prove himself to be a worthy mate. 

He opened his sockets, his sight landing on the diagram in front of him. He sat up properly, and picked up his pen, scribbling notes along the side in black ink. Part of proving himself of being a worthy mate would be providing a living for her. The human had no way to do it herself, and if he worked more often in the lab with Gaster, he could show her that he could provide a living. That they wouldn't always need to be tied to Gaster, because he could do work himself. Apparently, even though Gaster was the head of all science in the Underground, there were smaller labs at the university. These labs had smaller studies that focused on a variety of subjects, from souls to electronics, and paid students who helped further them along. If he could work with one of these programs and make some money, then he could begin saving up a small fund for himself, his human, and his brother. He remembered the colors and space of the city, all of the exotic smells and the noise blaring no matter where you went. 

It would be hard for Gaster to find them among so many monsters. 

As his mind was slowly taken away from Gaster, it slowly settled back onto his work, his energy revitalized again. 

* * *

You sighed as you stared at the dough covered floor. You and Papyrus had made a while attempt to make cookies, but he had gotten a little carried away with the mixture and...Well, the vanilla currently dripping into the sink was the least of your worries. The small skeleton was wringing his hands together, watching as you righted the glass bottle on the counter, and grabbed the yellow sponge. "Okay, we can probably get this done before Gaster comes back."

 "PROBABLY?"

"Yeah I mean..." You wiped up the spilled vanilla, before rinsing out your sponge. "Messes aren't always bad, you know? I mean, when I was pregnant with you, Sans had to help me clean up messes all the time. Sometimes he even had to give me baths, or put me to bed and clean up himself." 

"..."

You tossed him the sponge, he barely managed to catch it. "So, you can clean up the dough while I go get the mop bucket, okay?"

"RIGHT!"

You watched as he dropped to his knees, and began scrubbing away at the sticky mess. You turned on your heel and grabbed the mop bucket from under the sink, and set it inside the sink, throwing in some soap at the bottom of the red bucket. You switched on the hot water, and watched as it slowly began to fill up, bubbles popping in the air, spreading the sweet orange scent. You were just switching off the water, when you heard a shrill squeal of excitement from Papyrus. "Sans is back?"

"the one and only."

You hauled the bucket out of the sink, and set it on the floor, before picking your way across the mess, and enveloping him in a hug. He was warm and smelled vaguely like ash, he must have had to go through Hotland to get back here. "How was school?"

"was what it was." He let go and gestured to the kitchen. "looks like this is more exciting."

"WE MADE COOKIES!"

"We made a mess."

Papyrus dropped his sponge, and dragged his brother through the mush and to the full oven. "IT'S CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES. MAMMA SAID WE'RE GOING TO PUT THEM IN YOUR LUNCH FOR TOMORROW SO YOU WILL HAVE SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO."

You watched as Papyrus explained, in full detail, how to make the cookies. Sans listened to his brother, watching his excessive hand movements as he demonstrated how to roll the dough into balls. Leaving them to their fun, you grabbed the mop from out of a corner, and dunked the sponge head into the soapy water. You scrubbed down the floor, eventually shooing the boys to the table so you could get the rest of the floor. Once it was all done, and the cookies set out on the cooling rack, you poured some milk up for the boys. After giving them both two cookies, you went back to your own bedroom. You flung yourself on your floor, not wanting to get the sticky mess all over your sheets, and have to wash those too. It'd been a long day, and it hadn't even finished yet. You still had some of Papyrus' papers to grade, the kitchen was still a mess, and there was still Gaster you had to worry about. If his display was anything to go by, he would want sex when he came back home. 

You yawned and rolled onto your side, bringing your legs up to your chest. A good bath, a nap, and maybe a few cookies would get you into peek form...Or at least tolerable enough for you not to end up a tired doll when Gaster wanted you on your knees and sucking his cock. You licked your lips and pushed yourself up, after gathering all the things you'd need for your bath, you went to the kitchen. The boys had long finished eating their cookies, and Sans was washing at the sink. His shirt was pushed up to his elbows, and he was washing up the cooking utensils. Papyrus spotted you immediately, and he jumped off his chair, flinging himself at you. 

You hummed and gently brushed his skull, causing a soft glow to emit from his eye sockets. "MOMMA, SANS SAID HE'S GONNA BRING HOME PICTURES OF HIS SCHOOL!"

"That sounds pretty cool." Your gaze dragged back to Sans. "And how are you going to take the pictures?"

"there's cameras around campus." He shrugged, and turned back to you, wiping his hands off on his khakis. "nothin' too fancy. i can snag one and-"

"You're going to steal it?"

"borrow."

You sighed and rolled her eyes. "Sure Sans, sure..." You knelt down and hauled Papyrus up, he was getting big now, you probably shouldn't be picking him up in the first place. "Let's get you in the bath."

"NOOOOO!"

"Papyrus..."

"BUT SANS WAS TELLING ME ABOUT THE SCHOOL, AND THE CITY, AND..."

 "He can come with us, you know."

_**CRASH** _

"SANS! DON'T BREAK THINGS."

You raised an eyebrow as the skeleton scrambled for the broken glass on the floor, his skull dusted with a dark blue. "r-right bro. sorry, guess the cup was too deep for me."

"THAT DOESN'T MAKER ANY SENSE!"

"sure it does. it makes a cupful of sense."

"Sans, no."

"sans yes."

* * *

 Papyrus had taken the quickest bath you'd ever seen. As soon as you finished scrubbing the cookie dough from between his fingers and ribs, he jumped out of the bath. You sighed and leaned your head against the porcelain tub, letting the cold kiss your skin and cool down some of your core temperature. In his havoc, Papyrus had splashed you with water, and now your dress was sticking to your body. "He's gonna be the death of me, Sans."

"who?" You sat up and twisted around so you could look at the skeleton properly. He was sitting on the toilet, most of the blue gone from his face, his eye lights blurred around the edges. "papyrus? you must be getting old."

"That's hardly the case." You sniffed. "It's just been a long day. You know, even though moms are super heroes, we can have off days too." You gave him a crooked smile, and rest your elbow on the side of the tub. "Sometimes we even want to be alone, imagine that." 

Sans' smile fell around the edges. "do you want-"

"No, I was just playing with you, Sans." You raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with you all of a sudden? Did something happen today?"

He blinked and looked away, his smile coming back into place. You'd seen that happen whenever Gaster was around, a quick check out the door proved it was just you and Sans though. You turned your gaze back to the skeleton, your lips pursing into a frown. Sans had been so excited about this new deal that Gaster had made with him, and he had been so excited to learn, and see the outside world. Maybe it wasn't all that it was cut out to be, and he didn't want it after all. If that was the case, then how did you even approach that with him? Sure, you all lived under a rock, but maybe being forced to interact with others outside Gaster and his crew was worse. You knew kids could be mean, and even though Sans wasn't a kid, college kids weren't the most mature beings on the planet. More than once you heard Gaster complain about the college interns that made various shifts at the lab, and ended up doing nothing but getting in the way and making things worse. 

"Sans..."

"it's nothin', don't worry about it."

You sighed and crawled over to him, until you were seated between his legs. He stared down at you, sockets blow wide, and his eye lights shorting out of his sockets. You gently pressed a hand to his cheek, and pulled his face down to your own, pressing your forehead against his. "I love you, and I know it can be hard doing something new, but it's okay. You'll get used to it, and you might even enjoy it after awhile. Being outside our comfort zones can be a good thing, right?"

He stared down at you, his own hand slowly slipping onto your face, and cradling it in his larger hand. Sometimes it was hard to believe that this skeleton was your child. He could rattle off equations, was funny, and probably one of the smartest people you knew. But it was when he was playing with Papyrus, took the time to take care of you, or even held you like this...That was when you knew that a bit of yourself landed in him after all. If nothing did, then he would be just as cruel as his father, right?

"Hey, you gonna be okay?"

His thumb began caressing the spot under your own eye socket, his bone pressing hard against the skin, as if he was trying to touch the bone. "you're beautiful."

"Huh?"

He tilted your head up, and you felt your stomach unsettling. This felt familiar, far too familiar to you. And it wasn't until his teeth was pressed against your lips, his magic dancing across your skin, and his legs trapping you against him...

You finally understood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well? It finally happened. 
> 
> Know what isn't happening? My tumblr. http://nihilismpastry.tumblr.com/


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